Tin Man: Dragons and Ninjas
by KLCtheBookWorm
Summary: Five months after the events in Tin Man, DG and her friends must find out who is controlling the Longcoats and slay a dragon terrorizing the O.Z. So now is not a good time for a Slipper to show up, no matter how helpful he may be. DG/Cain.
1. Chapter 1

**Story:** Tin Man: Dragons and Ninjas  
**Author:** KLCtheBookWorm  
**'Verse:** Tin Man, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Legend of Zelda  
**Rating:** Mature  
**Author's summary:** Five months after the Eclipse, Longcoat attacks and dragon sightings terrorize the population, so DG and her companions set out to save the O.Z. again and cross paths with a Slipper on a mission of his own.  
**Characters:** DG, Cain, Glitch, Raw, Zack Baker, Jeb Cain, Azkadellia, the Queen. Pairings: DG/Cain  
**Warnings:** Uses original characters from author's TMNT and Zelda fanfiction, but you really don't need to read them to know what's going on.

I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Please review!

**TinMan**

**Dragons and Ninjas**

Chapter One

DG decided to erase the phrase _what's the worst that could happen_ from her mental vocabulary. She thought it before speeding to work and got a ticket. She thought it before jumping into the travel storm with her roboparents. She thought it before leaving the Central City Palace for this adventure. Now working her going-numb fingers to fish his razor out of Cain's vest pocket with tied hands, she vowed never to think it again.

Cain's chest contracted as she wobbled and jabbed her fingernails into his shirt. "Ouch," he said.

"Quit squirming then." She scooted a little to her right. Hopefully, that would line up her tied hands better with Cain's chest. "I'm not a contortionist and my hands are going numb."

"DG stay calm." Raw rumbled from the corner behind her. If her magic spiked because she panicked, they'd be surrounded by an explosion crater instead of the Longcoat van. Had they just left the Royal Army at Lord Gayelette's fortress this morning? Why had anyone listened to her?

"What does she possibly have to be nervous about? We're captured by Longcoats in the midst of a delusional countryside."

She aimed a glare in Glitch's direction cattycorner from her, despite being too dark for him to see it. "This wasn't part of the plan."

"We had a plan? I must have glitched and missed it."

Raw growled deep in his chest before speaking. "Glitch didn't know Longcoats ambush either."

"All I'm suggesting is that we shouldn't be in such a hurry to escape until after we know who has the Longcoats' leash."

Cain pushed his chest against DG's hands and back. Now it was okay to touch her, under these impossible circumstances; she choked back her frustration. "They'll keep DG alive," he answered. "We don't have any guarantees. Try again, DG."

She let out a deep breath as she bent forward to get more leverage for her arms. "Maybe we'll get lucky and the dragon will come eat the Longcoats." Her pinky grazed a button on his vest.

"Dragons are extinct."

She remembered the other forty-nine times Glitch told her too. "I don't care. I have the image of a talking dragon that sounds like Sean Connery gobbling Longcoats and it's a happy image. Stop ruining it for me."

"Just don't tell me what you visualize when you get depressed, doll."

As if it was that hard for him to figure out since he got all his marbles back. Take your pick for the issue of the day: in love with a man whose life I destroyed, exiled into a palace, or my birth parents hate me. DG hunched her shoulders and a middle fingertip brushed against the pocket seam. Cain held his breath.

The doors at the end of the van jerked open. Cain rolled from her, but the Longcoat saw them with the moonlight streaming inside. "What's going on here?" The commander of the unit of Longcoats lumbered inside and kicked Cain, flipping the TinMan onto his back. His gloved hand plucked the razor free with a grunt. "The boys need better training if they missed this." The fist curled around the razor and backhanded Cain across the jaw.

"Leave him alone!" DG pivoted on her butt and kicked out with her tied legs. Her feet made a solid connection with his calf, but the commander didn't stumble.

"That's no way for a Princess to act." The commander yanked her ankles. She lost her balance and slammed back on the van floor. Raw and Glitch protested, but she could barely hear them through the daze in her head. The kick to her side woke her up. She rolled across the van floor, stopping face down on the ground outside. She craned her neck up to suck air back into her lungs. The ground vibrated when the commander jumped down beside her. Before she could yell, he wrapped material around her mouth between her teeth and knotted it behind her head.

The commander set her on her feet to face him. She could smell the alcohol on his breath. "You stay quiet. Unless you want to entertain the whole unit." Her skin crawled under his chuckle.

DG looked away from his leering face to stare into the van. Cain's icy blue eyes locked with hers. He sat upright, he was coming, and he was pissed.

The van's doors slammed shut on the vision. The commander locked a padlock as big as her fist on them. _But I didn't think it this time!_ she wailed silently.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

The text swam in front of his eyes. Zack Baker groaned and leaned back in the library chair. Despite all his studying, despite Donnie's tutoring, he would be the only ninja in the Foot Clan who flunked American History. It was time to call study time over. He shut the textbook with an unexpected slam.

A presence stopped at his elbow. He pulled his black booksack out. "Sorry about that," he said without looking up at the probable librarian. "I'm heading out now."

He moved to pack, but a finger touched the ring on his right hand. The gold ring shaped into a copy of the Triforce made with gemstones. "I need Hyrule's knight errant."Zack looked up into the mismatched blue and silver eyes of the brown-haired woman. "Hi, Lissa. Is Zoe alright?"

"She's fine. I need your help for my son. I can't follow him."

He shoved his belongings into the booksack and swung it onto his shoulder. "There's something you can't do?"

"The Gensiarians put new rules into place after Agmaraa's assault on Hyrule. I insisted." Her nose wrinkled. "I should have let Zelda look them over to find the loopholes." She sighed. "I'm afraid Lyle is lost and that's preventing him from coming home. I can't send his father after him because Josh is busy on a diplomatic mission for Zelda."

"So I'm your only hope?" He matched her stride as they headed toward the library's exit.

"You have experience, Planes-walker, and you are a friend of the family. And magic doesn't frighten you." Lissa's smile warmed. "You are unique among the many universes, Zack."

"I wish your timing was better, but I appreciate a warning rather than just having my world drop away from me. I can't miss my finals, even if I do flunk them."

"I'll make sure you get back for your examinations. Do you have your weapons? Your cold iron and steel?"

"And a magic shield too. I've started carrying everything I'd rather not explain in my booksack of holding." Had they met since he was given that magic item?

"Good. Thank you."

He turned to the door as they reached it and realized a purple glow outlined the doorframe. "Wait, where am I going?"

Lissa's voice floated to him as the dark forest floor rushed up at him. "Somewhere over the rainbow."

His arms and knees jarred with the impact, but he sprang up to his feet. "I need to explain the concept of intel to her." The full moons streamed light through the cut in the trees. "Name of the world, major customs, who to trust." He was on an old road. Plant life pushed up through what was left of the bricks. He scanned his surroundings. The smell of fresh cut trees was strong, and he found a fresh trail off the road made wide enough for vehicles. An orange glow filled the dark woods at the end of the trail. It also sounded like a drunken revelry surrounded the fire.

Zack pulled his sais out of the booksack. He strapped it to his back, tucked the sais into his belt, and kept to the shadows as he crept forward. A bonfire created the orange glow. Some sort of military unit, about twenty guys in black trench coats, created the drunken celebration. They didn't even have a guard posted. He needed to know what the situation was here before making friends, but this group fell short on commanding respect. Five large canvas wedge tents formed the perimeter of the camp. Zack skirted around them, heading to the largest one.

He created a hole by pulling out a few of the stakes holding down the canvas wall and slithered inside the empty tent. A lantern hung from the ceiling near the door, but the bonfire outside lit up the canvas flaps like a movie screen. A cot against one wall meant somebody slept here, but the tables of stuff meant it was a planning place too. He headed to the table closest to the back wall of the tent. Paperweights held open a map on it. The next table held a pile of tan canvas packs topped with a brown fedora. A shadow moving at the door of the tent caught his eye. He dove under the tables.

One of the black leather trench coat guys entered the tent, carrying someone on his shoulder. "The people's princess," he dropped whoever he carried onto the cot and crouched over her. "Time to touch your people," he sneered.

She tried to buck him off, but with her feet tied together and her hands behind her back, she had no leverage. The gag muffled her protests.

Bearded trench coat guy chuckled. "You're a feisty one." His hand groped her breast. Her head flailed, looking for salvation. His hand moved down her body to her jeans. "No TinMan to save you now."

So much for playing it smart and uncommitted. Zack crawled to the end of the tables and stood behind the trench-coat-wearing rapist. She saw him over the rapist's shoulder. Zack laid a finger on his lips before striking. His hand slapped over the rapist's mouth and pinched his nose closed. He pivoted the larger body off the cot as he jammed the sai into his throat. The larger man slumped to the ground, dead. He wiped the sai clean on the cot's sheet before returning it to his belt.

The girl sat up now and her sapphire blue eyes opened wide enough to eclipse the rest of her face. Zack spoke quietly to keep the soldiers outside unaware. "I hope I picked the right side." He pulled the iron knife strapped to his calf out and cut her feet free. "But that guy wasn't following the Geneva Convention." She was about his size but older than him, Zack noticed as he cut the gag off her. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, you have great timing. I'm DG."

"Zack Baker." He cut her hands free and helped her stand up. She was wearing jeans and a leather jacket. Maybe he wouldn't stick out after all. "And I think we should go while the getting is good."

She stopped massaging her hands and picked up the fedora. "I can't go anywhere without my friends."

"How many friends do you have?"

"Three."

Zack frowned. "Five against twenty does not good odds make. Where are they?"

"Locked in the back of one of the Longcoats' vans." She smiled impishly and plopped the fedora onto her wavy black hair. "The doors face away from the fire."

Glass exploded near the bonfire and laughter howled. Zack pulled his booksack into the tent. "Start looting." DG gave a salute with two fingers, grabbed the maps and papers off the table, and stuffed them into the nearest pack. Zack opened the trunk at the end of the cot. A box that looked like a first aid kit, some food rations, a funny-looking gun, and five bottles liquor; he stuffed them all into his booksack.

He had cut the sheet into five rags and stuffed them into his pocket by the time DG was pushing the packs under the tent canvas. She had also strapped a gun belt around her waist without bothering to adjust the baldric across her chest. "Ready?" she grinned.

"Hang onto your hat." Zack squeezed out first, strapped on his booksack, and picked up two of the packs. DG picked up the other two, and pointed to the metal squares parked between the tents and the forest. The line of horses watched them. Zack touched her arm stopping her, and then cut the rope tethering the horses.

The unasked question filled her expression, but she led the way around the armored vans. She stopped at the one with a huge padlock. Zack whispered, "Did you get the key?"

She picked a straight razor off the ground. "No, they must've been on the commander."

Okay, he wouldn't want to search his dead almost-rapist either. "I don't know how to hotwire, I'll go back for the keys."

"You are a Slipper!" She grabbed his arm. "They don't use keys to start vehicles in the O.Z. I don't think they have grand theft auto."

"Can you drive this?" He pointed at the van with his thumb. "The trail to the road is on the other side of the camp." DG nodded. "Can you show me how to disable the other one?"

She took off the fedora and crawled under the van on her back. Zack followed her. A soft glow filled her hand as she pointed to a black tube. "That's the fuel line."

"Be back in a sec. Don't leave me." It took half a minute to complete that sabotage. DG started loading the packs onto the floorboard of the van's cab. Zack grabbed his booksack, pulled out the five bottles, and moved the lighter he kept in there for emergencies to his pocket.

DG stared at him, careful not to shadow the moonlight he needed to tie the rags. "Molotov cocktails?"

"When you crash a party, you should bring a gift." And Leo had been so pissed Allie had taught him how to make them. "Unless you think these guys need an opportunity to follow."

"Longcoats are scum. Let them have it."

He tied the last knot. "Yes, ma'am. Let's go."

She stuck her tongue out but helped him put the bottles in the van before climbing behind the steering wheel. "You're from New York? You sound like you're from New York."

"Yeah, and you sound like you're from flyover land."

"I was raised in Kansas." She started the van. "I'm not too good with reverse with these things."

"Go straight. The bonfire won't hurt this tank."

Her grin was dazzling. "You and I going to get along like Batman and Robin. Hang on!"

As the van surged over the uneven ground, Zack appreciated the warning. The Longcoats scattered ahead of the van. He pulled himself partly out of the door window and lobbed the first Molotov cocktail at the closest tent. The canvas lit up.

The horses screamed and bolted as the tents combusted. The reinforced bumper of the van pushed the bonfire logs out of the way. He dropped back into his seat and braced himself. Apparently, the O.Z. didn't know about seat belts either.

DG managed to get more speed out of the engine as they turned off the trail and onto the old road. She made a noise crossed between laughing and squealing. "That was great!" An explosion rocked the van. "What was that?"

Zack stuck his head out the window. "I think their munitions supplies just blew up. That should keep them busy. Do we have a destination?"

She spared a glance to him before focusing her blue eyes on the road again. "I don't think we should plan too far ahead. Put distance between us and the Longcoats, and then we find a can opener to get my friends out."

"Sounds reasonable. I've been here less than an hour and haven't had time to make plans yet."

"A travel storm hit New York? They're like tornadoes only they end up sending people here."

He shook his head. "No, I was sent here to look for someone, a friend. And I'm glad his mom decided not to use a tornado to send me here."

"It's not fun. So what were you doing in the Longcoats' camp? Not that I'm ungrateful for the rescue."

"Trying to find out where I had ended up. I didn't even get an exploding tape telling me what this mission is. This is the O.Z.?"

"The Outer Zone. Earth is called the Other Side."

"How long have you been here?"

"Five months," she answered, swerving to avoid a tree.

"No tornadoes back to Kansas?"

"I have reasons to stay. Oh uh. Hole!" She tried to swerve to avoid it, but the right front wheel hit it, causing a bang underneath the van. DG leaned her forehead against the steering wheel. "We really need to get the roads fixed."

"Guess it's time to find a can opener now."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Chapter Three

The van stopped moving. Cain silently thanked the gods. His arms couldn't take any more battering. His shoulders pressed against Glitch's feet and his calves pressed against Raw's. What the hell happened?

"Are you still alive, Cain?" Glitch's voice shook.

"So far." He grunted trying to sit up. He gave up hearing someone at the door. "When the doors open, give me a shove."

"Great, he did hit his head."

"We don't know what they're doing to DG, and we won't know until we get out of here."

The doors opened, and Glitch stopped arguing. Cain braced himself for the blows. He skidded across the floor. Two people climbed into the van; he would probably knock them off their feet. "Cain!" He couldn't stop. One of the people was DG and he couldn't stop.

The second shadow crouched. DG copied the movement and four hands grabbed him. His momentum still knocked them back, but didn't send them flying. DG sat up again. "That happy to see me again, TinMan?"

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" His worry over what he had almost done and what might have happened to her in Longcoat hands made his voice brusque.

"It's called a rescue. I even got your hat back." She dropped the fedora that she had been wearing onto his face. "And most people's first response is a thank you."

"Thank you," Glitch said quickly.

"I would like a smoother ride next time," Raw added.

An unfamiliar voice laughed. "He can be your Robin and get the front seat view. I'll stay at the BatCave." Young, male, and sharing a joke with DG; the analysis knotted Cain's stomach.

DG giggled as she helped Cain sit up. "Raw wouldn't like the costume."

"Nobody likes the costume."

The fedora fell away and Cain could see the new fellow while DG cut the cords on his wrists. A boy younger than Jeb stood guard in the van's doors but pivoted enough so they inside could see him. He wasn't much taller than DG, but his lean body was more muscular than you'd expect for a boy his age. His straight black hair needed a haircut.

The last of the cords split between his wrists and Cain stretched his arms. DG paused before moving down to his ankles. She unwound his gun belt from around her torso and pressed it into his hands. The moonlight behind her hid her expression. He was sure his expression of astonishment was plain to see. DG didn't say anything as she cut the ankle ropes with his straight razor.

Cain slid outside while DG went to free Raw and Glitch. He had his leather duster back on top of his gun belt before he noticed the orange glow in the distance. "What is that?"

"That was the Longcoats' camp," the boy answered. "I hope we didn't end up starting a forest fire and pissing off Smokey the Bear."

"Who?" Glitch jumped down between Cain and the boy. Cain resisted the urge to shove Glitch out of the way. The boy was armed with a pair of strange daggers tucked into his belt.

"It's an Other Side thing, don't worry about it." Raw extended his arm so DG could climb out. Cain grabbed her left arm and only let it go after both her feet hit the ground. "He's a Slipper," she continued.

"Which must be better than a stiletto heel." The boy jumped and headed around the van.

DG winced as she hurried after him. Cain gritted his teeth and followed her. "Sorry, that's what people from the Other Side are called here."

He shrugged a large black pack onto his shoulders. "Why? No, forget I asked. Asking why never helps." He pulled one of their canvas packs out of the van's cab and passed it to DG. "I've been called worse."

Glitch took the next pack. "Hello, my name's Glitch. On account my synapses don't always fire right."

The boy's eyebrows disappeared under his bangs. "Zack Baker, from the Other Side."

"Kansas?" Raw asked.

"New York City."

DG hit her forehead with the heel of her hand. "This is Raw and this is Wyatt Cain."

"Wyatt, Raw, and Glitch, right." He shook his head with a chuckle.

She crossed her arms. "What does that mean?"

"No offense. One day I'm going to meet somebody named Bob on one of these adventures and not believe them."

"What were you doing in the Longcoats' camp?" Cain forced his drifting hand away from his gun. The boy had obviously helped DG. He slung the last pack over his other shoulder, keeping his gun hand free.

Zack cocked his head to the side as he looked at Cain. "You're a cop."

DG's head swiveled between the two of them. "How did you figure that out so fast?"

"My brother died on the force. Me and my sister still get visits from his coworkers. You learn to recognize the type." He looked at the group. "Shouldn't we have this conversation on the move?"

Cain felt his lips twitch. The boy was right, and he didn't like admitting that about someone he didn't know if he could trust.

"We don't have to worry about the forest though." Glitch licked his finger and held it up. "A storm's coming."

Glitch could have the last word. "Let's find shelter before it hits." Cain took the lead down the road, and DG and Zack walked beside him. And if the boy thought the question was forgotten, he'd learn what made TinMen different.

But Zack picked up the question like it was the last thing Cain said. "I was sneaking around trying to figure out where I got sent to. I just happened to be in the tent they brought DG to."

"He took care of that Longcoat and then we rescued you guys." DG added and Zack glanced at her curiously. She was glossing over what happened in that tent deliberately, Cain realized.

There was time for that later. "You were sent to the O.Z.?"

"I was sent here to find a lost child. I didn't fly in by travel storm."

Raw must have sensed Cain's need because he clasped Zack's shoulder. The boy's hands moved, but he curled them into fists by his sides. "Speaks truth," Raw answered. "Guarded, honorable, warrior. Good man."

"What the hell?" Zack turned to DG. "Psychic Wookies?"

"Not exactly. Raw is a Viewer and they are psychics, but not like _X-Men_ psychic."

"Fine, but warn me before grabbing. I don't want to hurt you."

Cain repressed a snort. This boy hurt Raw? Getting a drop on a drunken Longcoat was a different category.

Zack's head turned toward Cain. "Man, that gets old. My sister looks at someone cross-eyed, and they flee like she's Freddy Kruger. I tell the truth and I get laughed at."

"Maybe having knives for fingers would help," DG suggested. Cain fell on his preservation of sanity technique, when the references didn't make any sense just keep quiet until they stopped. He'd need it twice as much now.

"Allie doesn't have any. I'd rather have Wolverine claws though, retractable." He turned to Cain again. "Did we break him?"

"Hardly. He's ignoring the Other Side crap until we return the conversation to something more relevant." Thunder rumbled in the distance. Cain felt a tic along his jaw line. How the hell did DG realize what he was doing? He only used it after he got tired of her _never mind_s followed by dejected sighs instead of explanations. "We're done. You can resume your interrogation, TinMan."

"Wait," Glitch poked his head between DG and Zack. "You said you didn't come by travel storm."

"I didn't."

"But that's not right. But that's not right. But that's not right." Raw hit Glitch on the back. "Thanks. Travel storms are the only way to travel into the O.Z. That's how all the Slippers get here."

"You don't have stories about silver-eyed magical people here?" Zack asked.

Glitch shook his head. "No, never heard of any."

DG turned to Cain. "Heard of silver shoes," he said, "never silver eyeballs. Who are they?"

"They are magic. They're called Gensarians in Hyrule, but also Travelers and Guardians on other worlds. Anyways, I once saw Lissa bring her past self to the present to save her son. If she says she can't come here to find him, I'm assuming it's because it would be the end of all things if she tried."

"That's just not possible." Glitch stopped walking, slack-jawed. Raw grabbed his arm to force him to keep up.

Zack grinned. "You have a zipper in your head and what I just said is the not possible part? I'm going to love this place."

"How exactly are you going to find him?" Cain glanced at the boy before focusing on a gap in the trees ahead. Searching for missing people in Central City had been a nightmare for an entire squadron of TinMen, and this kid could be any where in the O.Z.

"Haven't the foggiest. Next time this happens, I'm going to say I need something from home so I can quiz for details. I never get any details."

"At least it's not a set-up scavenger hunt," DG groused.

"There's some issues there."

"You have no idea." She brightened, "But we can help you. What does he look like?"

Cain felt his lips twitch. Did she want to keep them in the proven unsafe wilderness indefinitely? "DG, we already have a mission," he said coldly.

As if that would faze her. "Cain, it's a kid who can't go home."

He ignored her plea. Let the boy head off on his separate wild pixie chase, and they could concentrate on finding who was in charge of the Longcoats. The gap he had noticed earlier was a path to a homestead. "This way."

Lightening cracked down, hitting a tree in the forest, and lit up the clearing. The burnt cabin missing half a roof popped out of the darkness. "Longcoats," Glitch said mournfully.

"Come and gone," Cain sighed.

"Bad things," Raw whimpered.

"The barn is still standing," Zack pointed to the right. "I have good night vision." Cain didn't bother to reply, but led the way. The animals were gone, but the space between the stalls was dry. The downpour let loose once they were inside.

Glitch plopped onto an unbroken hay bale, reminding Cain of their madcap trip across the O.Z. searching for the Emerald of the Eclipse. "What have we got for supper? Since the Longcoats were such rude hosts and didn't feed us."

"Whatever we have that doesn't need cooking. We don't need to light a fire and let the stragglers know where we are."

DG dropped her pack on the hard-packed dirt floor. "I grabbed some fruit from the tent, but I don't know which pack I put it in." The only thing Cain didn't recognize in his pack was a crumpled map and some papers. "Those looked important, so I grabbed them," DG said. He grunted and dropped them back into the pack. He pulled out the dark lantern, and set it up not to shine out of the barn.

Raw found the fruit in his pack and DG found some biscuits and jerky in hers. "Tutor's not teaching me anything useful," she sighed. "I should be able to magic up food."

"Maybe he's using starvation as a motivator," Glitch suggested.

"Guess I better see what I have to contribute." Zack pushed his arms into his black pack sitting in front of him. Cain's eyes widened. There wasn't enough bag for the boy's arms up to his shoulders to disappear into.

DG looked awed. "It's magic."

"Your hand glows and that's not magic?" Zack blew his bangs out of his eyes.

"All I have is making things spin and a light show, nothing like that." She dropped next to him. "How does it work? Where did you get it?"

"You know what a bag of holding is?" He pulled out a loaf of bread wrapped in something transparent but shinny. DG shook her head. "What about Mary Poppins' carpetbag?"

Her blue eyes opened wide. "You got a bedroom set in there?"

"No," Zack laughed. "It was a gift, so I don't know how to make it. Whatever I put in has to fit through the opening and can't be alive. Haven't hit a weight limit on stuffing it yet." He pulled out a glass jar filled with something purple.

"Now that's useful magic."

"I think she's going to rewrite Tutor's curriculum when we get back." Glitch propped his chin in his hands.

"If we get back," Cain added.

"Ah ha!" Zack pulled out holding a jar of something brown in one hand and a spoon in the other.

"Peanut butter!" DG squealed. "Honest to God Jiffy peanut butter!" She grabbed the purple jar. "And Welch's grape jelly! The Zone has jelly, but I can't find peanut butter!"

Cain's breath caught in his throat. The last time he had seen DG this excited was finding her nurture units in Milltown. Even getting to leave the palace for this trip hadn't inspired this much joy. Did she miss the Other Side that much?

Zack shook his head. "Fairy tales don't prepare you for the princesses you really meet. Zoe got ecstatic when you gave her weapons. You get excited over peanut butter."

Glitch and Raw's jaws dropped as Cain moved his back off the barn wall. "DG! Do you even know what traveling incognito means?"

She flinched as she looked up. But Zack answered and his voice matched Cain's icy tone. "The Longcoat said 'the people's princess.' I looked around for Princess Di, but DG was the only girl in the tent. I don't know what you expect out of Slippers, but I'm not stupid." He tugged a yellow cloak out of the black bag and zipped it closed. "I'm going to see if they burnt the outhouse too." The yellow material swirled around him and he disappeared into the night rain.

"What the hell is the problem, Cain? He saved me, helped rescue you guys, answered all your questions, and now has food." DG's dejected face stared at him over the lantern.

"Cain," Raw rumbled.

"I can explain myself." The Viewer and Glitch exchanged looks that declared 'yeah right.' Cain focused on DG. "He appears out of no where with a crazy story, and you're falling for it."

"Raw said he wasn't lying!"

"And you said there's no magic on the Other Side! He has magic stuff. He was sent here by magic users Glitch and I have never heard of. The O.Z. is on the brink of a civil war." _And you could have been killed tonight and there was nothing I could do to stop it._ He didn't say the last. She already looked like he shot her puppy. Cain clenched his fist, and looked out at the rain.

"Glitch? What do you think?" she asked.

"I don't like being cited as an authority on magic since my talents are better suited for the sciences. Raw vouched for him, so I don't think he's out to cause us harm. But I don't think he's told us everything about his background."

Raw shook his head. "You two see boy. He was warrior before tonight."

DG hugged her knees to her chest and focused on the floor. Cain's jaw twitched before he spoke. "I'm sorry for accusing you of being lax with your safety."

"Wyatt Cain, if you even suggest going back to the palace, I will kick your ass." Her blue eyes blazed.

"I wasn't going to say that." If full warfare broke out, she wasn't safe there either. "It's just we know how easy it is for a spy to be planted."

"He's a Slipper."

"Who is handling being in the O.Z. better than you." Glitch's eyes bugged out of his head. Cain turned to the doorway.

Zack had come in silently. He hung up the wet cloak on the harness rack. "The outhouse is fine, but the yard is flooding." He snorted. "I'm not going back out there to give you more private time." He stalked back to his seat and opened the bag containing the bread. "Don't let me stop you. My feelings aren't hurt by a little suspicion."

Cain narrowed his eyes as the boy assembled a sandwich with the contents of the jars. "You've been to the O.Z. before."

"Nope," he replied cheerfully. "I've been to the Kingdom of Hyrule twice, which is where Lyle who I'm supposed to find is from, Dragonsworld, and an alternate New York. First time here."

DG took the bag of sliced bread and jars next. "And the magic items?"

"Other worlds. Magic has a hard time back home, but it's still there. When I'm not being bounced around different universes, I'm training and trying to graduate high school. The only blood family I got left is my older sister, the scary one I already mentioned." He took a bite of the sandwich.

"Other worlds." Glitch sounded enraptured. "All the theory just deals with the Other Side. Why don't the travel storms go to these other worlds?"

"Do we know they can't?"

"We don't have any records from Slippers from any where besides the Other Side. What is Tutor teaching you, DG?"

"Nothing useful, I thought we covered that." DG passed out the sandwiches, first to Raw and Glitch sitting on the hay bales, then one to Cain before sitting next to him. He couldn't resist sniffing the sandwich first. DG shook her head. "I'd love to introduce you to pizza and see your reaction to that." She looked at Zack. "You got pizza in there?"

"Sorry, pizza doesn't travel well."

Cain swallowed his first bite. What was DG so excited about? It was sweet and salty, but stuck to the roof of your mouth. "What are you training for?"

Zack's expression aged instantly. "The fight of my life, destiny, all that garbage. At least, I have time to train while waiting for the magic birthday to roll around so I can possibly die legally as an adult." He stuffed the food back into his bag and pulled out a blanket. His expression grew sheepish. "Sorry, don't often let the big, bad bitter out. Won't happen again."

"We asked for it," DG winced. "And personally, I think destiny should die and rot in hell. Preferably the circle where people's heads are getting chewed on."

Raw whimpered while Cain stared at her. "Is that another happy image?" Glitch asked.

"Don't worry about me, Glitch. I'm fine."

"But drifting closer to Aerosmith's definition. Who's pulling your strings?" Zack asked.

"I'm not neurotic." DG sighed, "The whole kingdom and mother knows best."

"Everybody who caused my problems is dead and that still didn't solve anything." Zack wrapped the blanket around his shoulders. "If we're through with my life story, what's the situation in the O.Z.? All I know is the Longcoats don't meet the G.I. Joe ideal."

"G.I. Joe?" Raw turned to DG.

"Fictional good guy army on the Other Side." DG looked at Cain. He nodded. If the boy was going to spend any time in the O.Z. he needed to know. "An evil witch possessed my older sister when we were kids. My memories were wiped and I was raised by robots in Kansas. The witch took over the O.Z. with the Longcoats and had a ten-year reign of fear. Five months ago, I returned, we defeated the witch, saved my sister, and restored my mother to the throne."

"Now we have dissent among the nobles if the House of Gale should even remain in power." Glitch continued as he stretched his long legs out. "And those leading the dissent are keeping the populace agitated, though restrained to just grumblings. The Longcoats are rumored to be massing here in the Northern Guild territories, which means they've probably found a new leader. We were sent on a reconnaissance mission to find out what's going on, and if the Guild lords are still loyal."

"And we get here, and the people want me to slay a dragon," DG added.

"But dragons are extinct, so it must be a Longcoat trick."

Cain stared at the dark barn ceiling with a sigh. Raw shook his head.

"As if the Longcoats are smart enough to pull off a Scooby-Doo monster of the week."

"None of the nobles you need to meet with are named Hammonds, are they?" Zack interjected.

"No, why?"

He sang a verse of a song Cain had never heard of. "Jurassic Park is frightening in the dark. All the dinosaurs are running wild."

DG giggled. "They don't have cloning in the O.Z. And not a bad singing voice."

The boy shrugged as Cain struggled not to scowl. "Me and the radio get along. How likely is civil war?"

"If we're lucky, it's just civil war," Cain answered. But he could scowl with this topic. "Most nobles are looking for any excuse to call their piece of the O.Z. their own kingdom."

"Jumping right over rebellion to total anarchy. Not a situation that builds a lot of trust." Zack uncurled his body and set the strange trident daggers beside him. "I can fight, if you want me. Hand-to-hand, swords. Don't like guns but my sister made sure I could hit what I targeted. And I can ride a horse. If you don't want me, I understand, but tell me in the morning." He lay down with this back to the lantern.

The others claimed spots on the floor. Cain stepped away from his bedroll once it was rolled out. "I'll take first watch, then Raw."

Raw rumbled a confirmation. "And I get to watch the suns come up," Glitch yawned.

Cain put out the lantern, and settled next to the barn door. The torrential downpour had eased. The clouds scurried across the last setting moon. DG sat beside him, passing him his razor. "Thanks. You should get some sleep." He tucked it back into the vest pocket, but she shook her head. "Dawn will be here before you know it."

"I can't sleep yet and I don't want to upset Raw and Glitch."

"They're already snoring. What's on your mind, Princess?"

She stared down at the hand resting on his thigh. "Your wedding ring is gone."

She was stalling. There was no way she was kept awake by the state of his jewelry. "I gave it to Jeb. He had Adora's. I told him to use them for his own wedding or save them for his kids. Now what's really wrong, DG?"

Her voice stayed silent for so long he thought she had fallen asleep sitting there. "Zack killed the Longcoat that took me from the van."

"I figured that much. It's a hard thing to see."

She shook her head, interrupting him. "He didn't have to. That Longcoat had me on the cot ready to rape me." She stifled a sob. Cain pulled her onto his lap. She pressed against him, trembling. "I tried to fight him but I couldn't knock him off me. He just laughed at me."

_And I couldn't save you._ He squeezed her body. "It's over now. You're safe."

"Because Zack killed him instead of running." She sniffled, waiting for him to answer.

He petted her long black hair. The boy had done the right thing without even knowing who DG was. "Alright, he can stay with us. We'll help him find the missing kid. Just keep us included in the conversation."

"I'll try, but it's nice not having to explain every other word."

He stroked her hair, even though she had stopped crying. If he continued, he could ignore wanting to kiss away her salty tear tracks. "How bad are things at the Palace?"

She groaned into his chest and he hugged her tighter. "I'm a Princess and I have a family. Happily ever after. Everything's fine."

"It's not a good idea to lie to a TinMan."

"Az explains stuff, making sure I don't get labeled the social cretin princess. Ahamo and I finally agreed on something."

"This ought to be good." The tension between father and daughter had filled the Central City Palace on his second-to-last stay.

"I made my first Princess declaration. I'm marrying for love, not because some other kingdom or an advisor wants to blackmail me down the aisle for the good of the O.Z. Ahamo told the Queen not to throw a fit because they did the same."

"First sensible thing the kidnapper has said. Sorry I missed it." She still felt more comfortable referring to them by names and titles, that couldn't be good. "What about the Queen?"

"She doesn't trust me, Cain. The people send their requests to me; ask me for favors or to do something governmentally because I melted the witch. And if I ever find the journalist that started calling me the people's princess, I'm gonna hurt him."

"You're just popular, Sweetheart. Your mother can't hold that against you."

"The nobles say with her magic gone she's too weak to rule. Others say I should be Queen now and argue with the ones who say I'm unsuitable because I'm practically a Slipper. After I suggested we should set up a parliament system and give the people a say, she banned me from the meetings until I learn what treason means."

Cain sat her up to look at her face. "You made a suggestion and she called it treason? Why didn't you tell me?"

She looked miserable. "What could you do? Besides, you've been telling us what's going on in the O.Z."

"I only go to…."

"Keep me safe," DG said with him. "I know that. And you were trapped for eight years, annuals. I won't trap you in the Palace because my mother is paranoid." She smiled ruefully. "But that's why I was bouncing off the walls to go on this adventure."

"That was hard to miss."

"I'm not even getting real magic lessons from Tutor. I ask Az for pointers, but I have to make sure I don't ask about something the witch liked to do because it'll give her a nervous breakdown." She glanced away. "And I understand. I have the stronger magic, I'm popular, and I could take the throne. Without being possessed by an evil witch."

He tucked her under his chin. "You're loyal."

"It's getting so hard to stay loyal, being treated like this. All I want to do is curl up on the couch and have Mom and Popsicle hug me while I cry just like I did in school when I got picked on. And thanks to me and the witch, I don't even have them."

He hugged her tighter. The witch had the tictock nurture units torn apart, and everyone thought DG took the news so well. They knew better; Raw had led them to where she had curled up to mourn. "You have to stop blaming yourself for everything the witch did. Get out of that damn cave."

"Hell!" She pushed out of his embrace. "Why do you always tell me that?"

"Because it's keeping you from being happy." Okay, where the hell did that come from? He looked up at her, hoping that some TinMan instinct had said the right thing.

It hadn't. "Since when has the O.Z. given a shit about my happiness?" Her bitter voice threw that at him before she crawled into her bedroll. Cain turned his full attention to the outside night, feeling lost on how to help DG now.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

Glitch sat on a bench built on the outside wall of the barn. The bold sunlight of the suns filtered through the trees. The morning watch gave him time to order his thoughts before they plunged into whatever the O.Z. threw at them next. Right now, his thoughts centered on the sleeping couple cuddling in the barn.

He couldn't figure out with all his marbles back why DG never used her feminine power over the TinMan. Azkadellia hadn't been much help. "I don't think she knows how to be a woman. Look at how she dresses. Club the man into submission, that she would have no problems with. Talk to him? Bat her eyelashes? She just can't. Nobody should be stuck that long in gawky teenage phase. It's cruel."

He wished Az was here. But DG refused to put her sister in danger, and after last night, it was the right choice. He blew a kiss to the south and returned his thoughts to the dilemma at hand. Cain loved DG. Even missing half his brain, Glitch had realized that when the TinMan found them in the Mystic Man's dressing room. He gave up his revenge to come back and save her.

But Cain didn't take any actions either! The man had been married before; he must have some clue how to woo a woman. Unless Adora had clubbed him over the head and dragged him to the altar before he came to. Maybe Raw could find out if that was what had happened.

He leaned and rested his elbows on his thighs, propping his chin. Cain couldn't deny DG anything she wanted, not even the Slipper he didn't like. But deny himself what he wanted; cripes, he was a TinMan. Glitch didn't know if it was bitter cynicism or the age difference or the fact that she was a princess, but Cain kept himself in the role of protector and friend. And DG didn't even try to push the boundary.

Except while traveling like this, when no walls separated them, and they always ended up embracing while asleep. Until they woke up and went back to the status quo. He peeked into the barn. DG's face pressed against Cain's chest. His arm draped over her side, and his expression was content. Glitch turned his gaze back to the burnt cabin. How could two otherwise intelligent people be so stupid!

Footsteps started toward the door, stopped for a moment, and then continued. The Slipper, Zack, paused in the doorway as he rubbed his eyes one at a time. "Morning."

"Morning. I didn't expect you to be the first one awake."

He blew out his lips as he sat. "I think I was the first one asleep. So how much of that last night was grumpy cop routine and how much was jealousy?"

"About half and half. Oh and keep quiet." Glitch jerked his head back. "They're in denial about it."

"She wore his stuff out of the tent, and they're in denial?"

Glitch shrugged. "State of not doing a damn thing about it doesn't exactly trip off the tongue, does it? Oh and you're welcome to come with us." Zack's eyebrows rose. "Raw told me Cain had told him, so I'm guessing DG changed his mind."

"There doesn't appear to be anything wrong with your synapses this morning."

He looked at the empty homestead. "Half my brain was taken out by the witch, turning me into a headcase. After she was defeated, my brain got put back in but they couldn't do anything with the zipper. Often it's useful just to pretend to be a headcase until we know what the situation is. But you did hurt a connection or two with the other worlds stuff last night."

"It has that affect on people, sorry." Zack narrowed his eyes as he scanned the homestead. "There's something familiar about this."

Glitch followed his stare. Muddy holes littered the yard between the cabin and the barn and the fenced padlock. Only the fence was scattered in broken pieces and flung around the clearing. Half the cabin had been blown away, and the wood that remained in a cabin-like shape was black with scorch marks. "Longcoats scared off or killed whoever lived here and wrecked the place."

"That's not it. I've seen army-destroyed homesteads before. Do we have any water?"

"The pump around the corner still works." Zack headed that way. DG stumbled out of the barn holding a roll of toilet paper and looking a little flushed. "Outhouse is on the other side of the cabin, doll." She nodded and skirted around the mud holes. Cain stood in the barn doorway and watched her progress. Glitch grinned. "Morning, did you and DG have a nice talk last night?"

The TinMan's lips twitched. "You were asleep. I heard you snoring."

"She headed toward you before I fell asleep. And all you two will do is talk."

Cain's icy eyes moved from DG's figure to Glitch's face. "How long has this been brewing?"

"Ever since she let you out of the iron suit."

The lip twitch grew to whole jaw movement. "Focus, Glitch. DG and her mother."

"Oh, happy-family-get-together time lasted about a month, so going on four months now."

Cain looked aghast. "I've been in and out of the palace ten times in the past four months. Why wasn't I told?"

"You noticed the tension between DG and Ahamo."

"The Consort," the TinMan's eyes narrowed as he struggled with his anger, "yelled at DG right in front of me."

Glitch nodded. "Ahamo lost what little tact he had in the Realm of the Unwanted." Zack rounded the corner, nodded his head in greeting, and went back into the barn. "Your visits perk DG up; get her back to the plucky Slipper who rescued us and the O.Z. Hmm, I wonder why that is? But I'm not surprised she wouldn't want to ruin that with palace intrigue."

"So why didn't you say anything?"

"What could I say? You are adamant about Longcoat hunting, and you and Raw tell me what's going on in the populace." Glitch grimaced. "I'm sorry you got blindsided by this, Cain. But honestly, every scenario I imagined telling you ended with you threatening the Queen at best. Or shooting her at worst. And you in the gallows would not make DG happy."

"Alright, Glitch, you were doing the best you could. How do we fix this?"

"I don't know." Glitch pulled on one of his dreads as Cain tucked his thumbs into his gun belt. "She feels everything as deeply as a Viewer, and she just takes all the pain and guilt. How much she more she can take?" DG rounded the corner of the cabin. "So what's the game plan today?"

"We should keep heading toward Jeb's unit. Besides, DG found us Longcoat papers we should get to the Army."

"Oh goddamnit!" Cain and Glitch jumped and stared up. Zack leaned out of the hayloft opening, staring out at the homestead clearing.

Raw joined them outside. "Be careful."

"The dragon is real." Zack pointed to the mud holes. "It landed there. Charged the padlock for the livestock, and burnt the house. Intel, why don't I get intel?"

Glitch looked over the clearing again as DG joined them. "No, no, dragons are extinct. It must be a magic trick."

"Come up for a look. Do illusions have weight and leave tracks?"

Glitch walked to the closest mud hole, Cain following him. Silt had settled to the bottom of them, but he could still see three gouges from claws.

"You said you went to a dragon world," DG said as she reached the barn.

"And hunted dragons and I really wanted to never do that again."

"Are you sure it's a dragon?" Cain asked.

"Positive." Zack shook his head in disgust and left the window.

"Where did it come from?" Raw asked.

"Good question." DG turned to Zack as he came out of the barn. "Would the people who sent you here send a dragon from another world?"

"Lissa doesn't mess with worlds like that. But that doesn't mean someone else didn't."

"So how do you kill a dragon?" Cain focused on Zack.

"Get up under the scales and hack until the head is severed. Trying to get to major organs in the body will get you dead. Eyes are vulnerable, but hard to target."

"What about guns?" DG asked.

"No clue, Dragonsworld was stuck on bladed weapons."

Cain looked over at the suns. "Time to move out."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

DG stuffed her hands into her motorcycle jacket's pockets. She stared at the back of the duster ahead of her. Cain had barely said five words to her this morning. To be fair, she hadn't been a chatterbox either. Not after their conversation last night, not after the nightmare that turned into something hot starring Wyatt Cain, and not after waking up on top of him.

Why the hell did she tell him all that? It had to be a TinMan technique, comfort the suspect and worm all the secrets out. It must be taught at wherever TinMen were trained. Her throat tightened when she realized she didn't know what that was even called. Add it to the list. Maybe she should start writing the list down.

What the hell was wrong with her? She always disappointed Mom and Popsicle. She couldn't keep her birth parents happy, the people who had sacrificed so much to save her and the O.Z. Now she disappointed her friends. She looked down at the ground. Cain deserved better than her. He deserved someone who hadn't allowed his family to get torn apart, and caused years of torture for him. They all did, but they wouldn't leave her. She shouldn't have brought them along this trip. But she honestly couldn't see going across the O.Z. with anyone else.

Cain had horrid luck. He wasn't there when they made the plans for this diplomatic scouting mission. He dropped in the day before they left and didn't even unpack. He didn't even complain when she had demanded he come along. She was horrible. He was a fighter, not a politician. He couldn't help her in the Palace where the weapons were words. She loved him too much to force him to share the punishment she deserved.

Kill the big evil and it's happily ever after, yeah right. She should sue Disney or force them to make the sequel dealing with the trauma resulting from the big evil and everyone hating the hero who never suffered from it, who let it out in the first place.

At least, the witch had been honest with her. Playing mind games and trying to kill her was mentally healthier than telling her she loved her and then punishing her by stripping away everything that made her a person twice. DG's skin prickled. She should bury herself in the cave. Then everyone could forget her blissful ignorance from the Other Side. They would be safe from her fuck-ups that led to more heartbreak.

"DG!" Raw grabbed her arm. Wind swirled around them, strong enough to whip the tree branches and for Cain to hold his hat on his head. They all stared at her, and she looked away from their concern to Raw's pain-filled eyes. "DG loses herself in the dark. No hope on that road."

She glanced away, and pulled the magic back under control. "Sorry about that." Raw squeezed her arm. "I'm alright, Raw."

"Repeating something does not make it true. DG should know this." He let go of her arm.

Zack scanned the forest as the wind died. "Magic leak?"

"What do you mean?"

"That's what Cass would call it when she lost focus or just had too much energy and nothing to burn it on. Light bulbs would explode and she would babble."

"Cass, another princess?" They started walking again, and she stayed next to Zack.

"A gargoyle halfling, her father was fae and gave her magic powers. But if you want to get technical, she was raised in Troy's royal court and Homer called her a princess."

"Troy? The Trojan War Troy? No way." He looked down at his hands. "Is she from the alternate New York you mentioned?"

"Yeah." He rested his hands on his daggers. "How much training have you had?"

"I remember one lesson from when I was a child, making my doll spin. I healed a Papay tree, but I don't know how. Tutor taught me shielding, and Az taught me a silencing spell when we didn't want anybody to know we were staying up all night. And I can make my hands glow. I never need a flashlight again."

"What can you do offensively?"

"She swings sticks at people," Cain grunted.

DG's temper flared. "You can be the most ungrateful bastard in the whole Zone, you know that?" Cain turned to her with wide open eyes. "That stick you love to keep throwing in my face was the only thing available and it was to save you and your family!" She stomped past him.

"Huh?" Zack turned to Glitch.

"When we met Cain, there was a tri-dimensional energy stored projected holographic time loop playing of when the Longcoats attacked his family. DG thought it was real and charged in."

"Completely ignoring the fact that if it had been real, she was outnumbered." Cain regained the lead. Fine, he could have it; she didn't know where Jeb's unit was anyway.

"So how come no one's teaching you magic missile?" DG focused a blank look at Zack and he sighed. "How to zap things?"

"Probably because zapping things isn't what a proper princess does." If she wanted to do something, it was a safe bet it wasn't what a proper princess should do.

"And probably because no one wants to get zapped." Glitch threw up his hands when she glared at him. "I know I don't!"

"I wouldn't zap you guys."

"Even Cain?" Raw smiled.

DG rolled her eyes. "Even Cain, but he's a more tempting target." The TinMan's stride faltered a little but continued. She turned back to Zack, "You knew a princess that had weapons? How did she get away with that?"

"Her father was the Champion of Hyrule and thought she should know how to protect herself."

"No good for me. Ahamo still thinks I'm seven."

"Her mother didn't find out until we returned to Hyrule to stop an invasion, and Zoe abdicated the crown."

That sounded sweet; to just walk out of the Palace with no more crushing responsibilities. It must have shown on her face because Glitch turned bleak. "Doll?"

"I wouldn't do that to Az."

"We made it," Cain interrupted. Two uniformed guards stepped out of the underbrush in front of him, checked the group, and then led them into the camp. Twilight descended over the forest.

"Dad!" Jeb exited the main tent and hugged the TinMan. DG realized she had only seen the Royal Army's dress uniforms they wore to the Palace, and Jeb looked more in his element in the dark green and browns of the working ones.

Zack stepped up to DG. "I didn't think he was old enough to have a kid that old," he murmured.

"Later," she whispered back.

"We were expecting you last night," Jeb said after he took over leading them further into the camp.

"Longcoats," Cain answered, "but I don't think DG and Zack left you any to play with."

Jeb raised his eyebrows. "What, Captain? You never broke any of your toys as a kid?" This time she remembered introductions. "Captain Jeb Cain, Zack Baker." Zack shook his hand.

"Here's your tents." He stopped in front of a pair close to the center of camp, and gestured to the smaller one. "This one is yours, Princess. Supper is in about an hour, and I want to hear about how you broke the Longcoats."

She nodded and slipped into the tent. Only one cot, good she wanted alone time. The pack hit the ground and she shrugged out of her leather jacket as she headed straight to the washstand. After a quick wipe off and a fresh shirt from her pack, she felt human enough to contact Az.

_Deeg! Why didn't you talk last night?_ Az's voice filled her head.

_We just got to Jeb's camp like just right now._

_What happened?_

Couldn't hide anything from Az. _We were captured by Longcoats. A Slipper named Zack helped me rescue the others._

Az sighed. _Mother's not going to like hearing that. Ambrose and the others are supposed to keep you out of trouble. But it's is one of your adventures._

DG felt tears prick her eyes. _Just tell her we're fine, which we are. She can wait for the details. I have to go eat now._

_Okay, sis. Tell Ambrose…._ DG could feel Az's embarrassment.

_Don't worry about it; I know what to tell him. Later._ She opened her eyes and wiped her wet cheeks. Damn, she could usually talk to Az without breaking down. She lit the lantern before slipping out of the tent. Zack sat on a nearby log. "Waiting for me?"

"More or less. I figured if I asked you, I won't make a fool of anybody during the meal."

"What Glitch was telling you earlier about the hologram? Cain was locked into a tin can they call an iron suit, forced to watch it over and over again, for eight years," she sighed, "annuals. The suits don't let the body age, and don't knock you out either."

"So Jeb kept growing. Ouch. And this group is on your side?"

"It's an advance party unit of the Royal Army of the O.Z. Jeb is their commander." She bit her lip before continuing. "Can I ask you a favor?"

"Considering that you're being so nice letting me tagalong, sure."

"Could you leave what that Longcoat was going to do to me out of the story of last night?" She stared at the ground. "I don't want anybody getting the idea to ship me back to the Palace, where I'll be safe."

"I'm getting the impression you aren't safe there. Otherwise, Cain would have already done it."

"Is his over protectiveness that obvious?"

"Maybe you inspire it. But I've got no problems with editing."

"Thank you." Glitch stumbled out of the larger tent. "Az says she misses you." His face reddened before he grinned. DG smiled at him. She was glad they were happy. Someone in her family deserved to be.


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Note: Okay, I'm getting hits but no reviews. Some reviews would be nice if you like what you're reading. I really don't want to hold the upcoming smut hostage. I really don't.**

* * *

Chapter Six

"You have got to show me how to make those," Jeb glanced at DG.

"Molotov cocktails."

"Molotov cocktails," Jeb finished turning to Zack. Cain shook his head. He should have known his son would be won over by exploding devices.

"I don't have a problem teaching you. But they're not always reliable."

Jeb waved the concern away. "Everything's a potential weapon. Besides, we don't have supply drops from the rest of the Army in the wilderness."

"The Army is closer now." Glitch leaned his elbows on the table. "Lord Gayelette agreed to garrison the Second Division in his fortress."

Cain let the conversation flow around the table in the mess hall tent without participating. DG wasn't her usual exuberant self. He wished how she seemed could all be chalked up to exhaustion. Raw hadn't taken his worried eyes off her during the meal, hell, since her magic leak in the forest.

DG stood up. "This is fun, guys, but I'm about to pass out at the table. So good-night." Cain shoved his chair back to stand, but she gestured for him to stay seated. "Visit with Jeb; I can find my tent without an escort."

Glitch nodded his head behind DG's back. "I'll walk with you. I'm ready to see how comfortable army cots are."

"I'll go too." Zack pushed his chair under the table. "You can show me your flashlight spell."

Raw nodded at Cain. He made no move to follow the group. Cain did as far as the doorway. He returned to the table when Glitch and Zack had DG out of earshot.

"Dad, what's wrong with her?"

"I'm hoping Furball can help us with that."

Raw squirmed. "Not fair to ask, Cain. Rules."

He winced. "Only because it's DG, Raw. Otherwise, I wouldn't."

"Not a full reading. DG shields herself." The Viewer sighed. "She nearly lost in dark places. She feels failure for everything. She saves us from her failure by going to the dark places."

"We should have never let her go into that cave alone. Damn Tutor."

"Cave only part of it. Used to be going back to the Other Side. Less of that now. More of the dark road."

"I've never heard of a dark road." Jeb's hazel eyes looked confused.

Raw tugged on his beard. "Self sacrifice. Today when her magic got too strong, she had image of being in the cave and pulling rocks down."

"Suicide? DG?" Cain's mouth fell open.

"DG listens to you. Comes out of the dark places for you."

"Did you miss the part today when she called me an ungrateful bastard and wanted to tear my head off?"

"Different from old DG how?" Cain didn't have an answer for that. "DG stays in the O.Z. for guilt. Needs a better reason."

"But the O.Z. is her home," Jeb said. "Her family is here."

"Glitch told Cain?"

"Yeah, and so did DG." His jaw worked. "I know there were times I questioned her parents' judgment when we were helping her find the Emerald, but I figured the witch was bad enough to justify it. But now?"

"They don't know how to love DG." Raw clasped Cain's shoulder on his way to the door. "Cain does better by Jeb."

Cain felt his ears burn. Jeb smirked, "It's okay, Dad. I had figured that out already."

He grunted and dug the papers from one of the pouches on his gun belt. "Here. DG liberated these from the Longcoat camp. Maybe they'll make sense to you or one of your men."

Jeb unfolded them. "Do you think they've been affected by magic? Those marks don't even look like a language."

"Ask DG in the morning. Maybe she can sense it."

"Speaking of asking DG." Jeb set a jewelry box on the table in front of Cain. "You left those behind on your last visit."

"You and Glitch…." Cain gritted his teeth, unable to finish that sentence coherently.

"Want the best for you and DG." Jeb crossed his arms. "You need her and she needs you."

He snatched up the box and hid it in his duster's pocket. "She already feels responsible for the mess the whole Outer Zone is in, and you want me to add to that. I can't."

"Dad." Worry lined Jeb's face. "She doesn't love the O.Z. Give her a reason to."

"And that might not be what she needs at all." Cain ducked out of the tent.


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's Note: Well, I hope this chapter has a little more action for those that need it. The upcoming smut is safe for now.**

* * *

Chapter Seven

A tap on his arm woke Zack. DG gestured for him to follow her out of the tent. He yawned as he shoved his feet into his shoes. She waited at the log, and the suns were barely up. "Sorry, do you need coffee?"

"Bleah, no. Does the O.Z. have Mountain Dew?"

"Nope, just coffee. And I spent a week here running for my life everyday before anybody told me."

Zack groaned. "My booksack needs a cooler in it. Did you get any sleep last night?"

DG turned to hide her face, but he had seen the dark smudges under her blue eyes. "A little, before the nightmares woke me up. I have to do something about them."

"I'm not a therapist, why wake me up?"

"I need to learn some self-defense. Hand-to-hand combat means you or Glitch. And Glitch will be too afraid of hurting me."

He ran his fingers through his hair. He wasn't surprised at the asking, not after what had almost happened. And it was stupid to not give a target some training. Even April knew a few moves, and was getting scary competent with a katana. "You'd probably be better off with a baseball bat."

"They don't have baseball in the O.Z."

"Damn, the one team sport I'm decent at. What?" He asked at her skeptical look. "I'm too short for basketball and not stupid enough to try football. Wait here." The men were still asleep, so he was able to pull his booksack out of the tent without any issues. "First, we get out of the way." He headed toward a grassy spot away from the tents. "Second, have you ever fought before? Real people not holograms." Her face reddened. "Fess up; you're too much like Allie for me not to believe you never took a swing at anyone."

"I'm not sure I should be flattered by that with the way you describe your sister."

"I love my sister and she only uses her violent tendencies for good."

DG sighed. "I broke Jimmy Gulch's nose our senior year. And he totally deserved it. I also had a self-defense lecture when I started college. How to use pepper spray and keep your doors locked."

Zack held up his hand for her to stop. "I know about that useless lecture." He set the booksack down. "I don't have a mat, but neither does real life situations." He marked the other three corners by sticking his sais and the iron knife into the ground. "This is the sparring area. Now, I need to see how strong you are."

"No holding back because I'm a girl."

"I'm going to hold back because you've never done this before. Go at full speed and you won't see what to do." He clasped her hands and pulled her arms up to chest level. "Push as hard as you can." She was stronger than he had expected after five months of palace life. "I'm gonna push back. Don't let me push you over." She had to dig her heels in but her eyes widened. She hadn't realized how strong she is. "You grew up on a farm, right? Chores tend to build muscle."

"I have muscle? Wow." DG flexed her arm.

"I doubt the O.Z. had weightlifting for princesses, but you need to keep up your muscle strength."

"There are plenty of stairs. I'll never need a StairMaster again."

"Do push ups, real ones, for upper body strength." Zack settled into the basic stance. "The most important thing is to keep on your feet. You can do more damage that way."

DG nodded and copied his stance. He pushed her over. "What the…?" She glared at him.

"Nobody gets that stance right the first time. You need to train your body to go to it instantly. You tossed any hay bales?" She nodded, her blue eyes narrowed. "Mime doing that." She set her feet, bent over, and swung her arms out. "Again." This time he tried to push her before she bent over. DG didn't budge. "That's your stance. Don't look so surprised. Most martial arts were invented by farmers to fight against superior forces."

"Really? I thought it was those samurai guys."

"They're responsible for bushido and jiu jitsu. Karate, kung fu, and taekwondo were invented by farmers and monks."

She put her hair in a ponytail. "So what do you have a belt in?"

"Shinobi."

"Never heard of it."

"It also called ninjutsu."

DG's mouth fell open. "You're a ninja? There's real ninjas on the Other Side?"

"Maybe not in Kansas. But there's real aliens and mutants on Earth too, so why not ninjas?"

"I think I left right before things got interesting."

"Maybe, but look what you got in return?" Zack gestured at the surroundings.

Her face was bleak. "It's not what I wanted. Or what I need."

"You don't need Cain?"

She let out a strangled groan. "Unless you want to have a TMI moment, don't go there."

"Okay, just one question and back to the serious stuff." He struggled to keep his face straight. "No vibrators in the O.Z.?"

"None! I grossed out Az when I asked and then had to describe what I was talking about. Apparently, princesses aren't supposed to get sexually frustrated." She huffed while Zack chuckled. "You are truly evil, you know that?"

"It's little brother survival syndrome. You get used to it. Get back in the stance. You like to charge in. Second most important thing, let your opponent do the charging so you can use their momentum against them."

"That doesn't make any sense."

Zack moved his feet. "Come at me."

DG shrugged then ran at him, arm cocked back to hit him. He grabbed and heaved. She blinked up at him, sprawled out. "Ow. Okay, I get it." She sat up on her elbows. "But what if there's an advantage to charging in?"

"Not without a lot more training." He pulled her to her feet. "You have guards and bodyguards to take care of that."

"I don't need them to fight for me!"

"Then look at it as fighting with you! But your position in the team is to look helpless until a nasty Longcoat tries to grab you, and then," he threw his fist into the palm of his other hand. She looked at him dubiously. "Borrowing strategy from role-playing games, you protect the wizard because they can heal you or blast the enemy with a fireball. Once you know how to use your magic that way, you can charge in. But you need something for when you can't use magic."

She cocked her head with a small smile. "If you can't get back, can you stay with me and talk sense into the well-meaning idiots? I try to say something like that, and all they hear is 'the Princess wants to get herself killed!'."

"I can't make any long term promises, but I'll do my best. Now I'm going to come at you, and you throw me." It took about five times, stressing the best places to grab, before she managed to sling him over her shoulder. He tucked into a roll and found his feet. "It'll be easier with a bigger opponent."

"The bigger they are, the harder they fall. What if they come from behind?"

He wrapped her arms around him. "I don't recommending falling back if they're bigger in that case. I've been slung over a shoulder before too. Foot between their feet, twist, and slam your elbow in their side." He pressed his elbow against her side. "Got that?"

"I think so." She moved to the center of the sparring area and put her back to him. "Ready."

Safe place, and no one had bothered them, was that why he didn't sense danger until it was nearly too late? Or was it because the attacker was ninja-quiet himself? Instead of grabbing DG, Zack shoved her away. He dropped and kicked out as he spun to face his attacker. The man fell back but kept his gun steady and pointed at Zack's head. He leapt away from DG, somersaulting in the air, and came down on his feet out of the path of the gun near his knife. The gun swung to meet him, and Zack tensed to dodge again.

"Wyatt Cain!" DG sat up and roared. "Put that gun away before I take it from you!"

Cain sat up and the blaze of anger on his face put Charlton Heston's NRA speeches to shame. Also the gun never wavered. "He was attacking you!"

"He was teaching me self-defense!" She climbed to her feet and set her hands on her hips. "Because I asked him to!"

The hairs on the back of Zack's neck pricked. He looked up. No, he couldn't reach the nearest branches of the trees and get out of the line of fire. He was too far away from the participants to get their attention off each other and nearly everyone in the camp was watching and he was going to be pulled in simply for trying to do the right thing.

Cain holstered his gun as he stood. Zack relaxed his muscles, but didn't rise out of the crouch just yet. Cain turned to DG but watched Zack too. "That was not self-defense. And it's not proper for you to be wrestling in public."

Zack cringed. Okay, who would be the safest to give the clue-by-four to? _Jeb, please tell your father that DG is the same age as my sister and I'm not into older women._ Cain wouldn't hurt his own son.

"I don't care what it looked like to you. Or what you think is appropriate. I want to be able to hurt Longcoats!"

Zack's eyes widened. She hadn't told anyone what happened to her in the tent. Man, Cain was going to get reamed and he didn't have clue it was coming or why.

"Tough, you're a Princess. It's not your job to hurt Longcoats, no matter how much they deserve it."

The wind circled the sparring area. "I am sick and tired of everyone in this realm giving me job advice. I'm the one with crown!"

Cain's hands clenched. "Then act like it!"

The wind blew harder. "And how should I do that? Keep in my rooms while the Zone falls apart? Not learn anything that's not on the approved list? Marry the man the Queen and her advisors say is the best deal? Squeeze out babies like a damn brood mare so the House of Gale won't run out of heirs? And never set foot out of the goddamn castle until it is stormed? And beat the invaders away with only a stick!" The wind buffeted the tents.

"Kuso," Zack muttered. He wrenched the iron knife out of the ground. He had no idea if this would work as he ran to DG. He slapped the knife against her shoulder where it wouldn't cut her.

Something like an electrical current pulsed and knocked him back. The wind stopped howling, and DG hissed, hugging her arm. She whirled to face him. "What the hell was that, a cattle prod?"

He stared at the iron knife. "And Lexington made fun of me for wanting it."

Cain's icy blue eyes stared down at him. "Stay out of this."

"Can't. She gave me a job." He stood up, and pointed to DG. "You can't blow us away because Cain is being a jackass." Zack ignored him to turn to Glitch, Raw, and Jeb, who crept forward. "Do you have iron in the O.Z.?"

"It's very rare," Glitch answered slowly.

"Kuso." Zack took the sheath off his leg. After sliding the knife in, he shoved the whole thing into DG's hands. "You wear it and you grab hold of it the next time you feel like throwing a temper tantrum."

"That was not a temper tantrum," she hissed.

"I didn't say it wasn't justified. But at this rate, you're going to start spawning tornadoes, if not a full-fledge hurricane. Iron short-circuits it." She looked disdainfully at the knife, and Zack felt his own temper spark. "Unless you want to kill one of your friends or an innocent bystander!"

Her eyes went wide and she clutched the knife and leather to her chest. Raw touched her shoulder. "Come DG. Jeb needs help."

"Yeah," the young man with thick blonde hair said looking at his seething father. "Opinion on magic." They led DG away, and Jeb only paused to yell at his soldiers to get back to work.

Zack crossed his arms as he turned to Cain. "I grew up in New York. You don't scare me."

"I never want to go to the Other Side then," Glitch muttered.

Cain's lips and jaw twitched for nearly five minutes before he managed to say anything. "You're filling her head that she can take on Longcoats."

"No, I was teaching her how to knock a Longcoat on his ass and run like hell if one tried to grab her. Which was what I was taught when I found out a megalomaniac wanted to kill me." Zack sighed, "Look, the rest of my clan made the same mistake with my sister. We can fight the baddies; she's just a dainty girl. Allie almost went insane before they got their heads out of their shells, and she didn't have DG's added stress. Until she has her magic under control, she needs a way to fight back." There, it made sense and didn't spill any secrets.

Cain heaved a sigh. "You're trying to help. And after what almost happened, she needs to feel safe." Zack's eyes widened. "Yeah, she told me. But you can't beat up on our Princess in front of everybody, training or not!"

"It wasn't in front of everyone until you made a scene."

"Can you wait until we're on our own again?"

He was trying to be reasonable. That was heaps of progress from pointing the gun. "If DG agrees, I'm good with that plan." Zack held his hand out. Cain's lips twitched but he shook it.


	8. Chapter 8

**Thanks for the reviews and hope this chapter has enough flangst for everyone.**

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Chapter Eight

Cain stalked to Jeb's headquarters with Glitch on his heels. The soldiers watched them, but kept their comments to themselves. "Zipperhead, you don't know anything about what DG doesn't want you to know about."

"I understand, Cain. I just wished someone trusted me with it."

He made sure none of the soldiers were in earshot. "I haven't figured out why she trusted me with it. Especially since you're the compassionate one."

Glitch clapped his shoulder. "You underestimate your compassion, especially when it comes to DG."

"What was that getting married rant about?"

"One of the Queen's new advisors suggested that the best way to keep DG safe was to marry her off to the most suitable suitor and to have a baby as soon as possible." Glitch's wide mouth frowned. "He recommended six babies being the optimal number. DG rejected the idea rather colorfully, something about treating the livestock back in Kansas better, and said she was only marrying for love."

"The Queen replaced you with that guy?"

"I know. I can't believe it either." He led them to the headquarters tent.

Raw and Jeb both looked up. DG sat at a table, her hands resting on turned over papers and her eyes closed. "DG concentrating," Raw explained.

She blew a raspberry. "I could totally suck at this, but I can't sense any magic on these papers, Jeb." She looked at Cain. "You didn't shoot him."

His lips twitched. "We worked out a compromise. You can continue the self-defense once we're back on the road."

"Okay, thank you." She turned the papers over. "It must be some sort of code. I didn't get a good look at them, but that makes sense, right?"

"I've never seen a code like that before." Jeb propped his elbows on the table opposite from DG, who started shuffling through the papers. Her forehead furrowed. "DG?"

"Raw, go get Zack, please." The Viewer nodded and left.

"What is it?" Glitch asked as he looked over DG's shoulder.

"I think it's another language from the Other Side." Raw returned with Zack in tow. "Do you know Japanese?"

"Not fluently. Why?" She pushed the paper across the table so he could see. "It's kanji, alright, not so much hiragana and katakana. I don't think it's modern Japanese." He looked up. "How did you guess?"

"We had anime in Kansas. Can you translate it?"

"I'll try. I speak it better than I read it." He stuck his arm into his black bag and pulled out a thick hardbound book, a strange book that had pages bound with a spiral wire, and a pen. He opened the wire-bound book to a page with blue lines drawn on it. He copied the symbols from the papers, and printed out in Common what it must mean next to it.

"Why are Longcoats using a language from the Other Side?" Jeb asked.

Glitch moved to look over Zack's shoulder. "And how did it get to the O.Z.?"

"A travel storm went to Japan," DG suggested.

"But was it a natural one or manufactured?"

"Longcoats, please." Jeb rubbed his temple.

"Code talkers," Zack said.

Everyone turned to DG who shrugged. "What are code talkers?"

"Wow, I might actually pass the final. World War II."

DG huffed. "When I had world history in high school, the teacher spent three weeks on Napoleon's blue eyes and we only got to World War I by the end of the year." Zack shoved the hardbound book down the table to her. She opened it near the end. "Code talker is a person who talks using a coded language. It is frequently used to describe Native Americans whose primary job was the transmission of secret tactical messages."

"It was Navajo in the Pacific theater," Zack added. "The Japanese had never heard or seen it, and they never broke it."

Jeb sat up. "How did that work?"

"They coded stuff with Navajo words. Grenade became potato. The two Navajo on the ends of the transmission knew the code. Anyone listening in the middle would have to know Navajo first and then figure out what they were talking about." Zack set the pen down. "I think we lucked up here. Whoever is using the Japanese with the Longcoats didn't take that extra step. There's only one word that doesn't make any sense, rei. It means nothing."

"It's not a word?" Glitch and Jeb both looked at the translation.

"Yes, it's a word. It means nothing, naught, the concept for doesn't exist. But it's following daishou."

"Bless you," DG said.

"That's a military rank, like a general. Rei should be a name in the sentence. 'Report to General Nothing at river Gill family.'"

"Gillikin River," Glitch corrected. Jeb pulled a map of the Northern Territories in front of him on the table. Zack jotted down the corrections to his list.

"DG!" Raw held her on the stool. The blood had drained from her face, and she clutched the hilt of the iron knife.

Cain started around the table to reach her, but she spoke before he did. "Could rei mean zero?"

"Sure," Zack frowned at her, "zero means nothing."

"Zero is a name." Cain gritted his teeth. "Zero was a general of the Longcoats under the witch."

"But the prison he is in is in the Black Mountains, past the Crack in the O.Z." Jeb snorted, "He's gonna have a hard time making this appointment."

Now Glitch's face went paler than normal. His head swiveled between father and son. "You don't know, you don't know, you don't know."

"Maguire Prison was attacked three weeks ago. Zero was one of the escapees." DG focused her panicked blue eyes on Glitch. "I told the Generals to tell them. They said they were!"

Glitch stopped glitching without anyone hitting him, and he turned away from DG's gaze. "Yes, they agreed the Cains should know of his escape."

Jeb slammed his hands on the table. "Then why weren't we told?"

Cain looked back at DG and her stricken face focused on him. "I thought you knew," she breathed out. "I thought you knew and you came back anyway."

He stepped toward her. "Nobody told me anything, kiddo."

Raw whimpered. "No, DG. Everyone safe. Zero not get Cain. Everyone safe."

"For how long!" DG hugged the knife to her chest as she wrenched herself away from Raw's grasp. "I'm a traitor-in-training only tolerated because Az can't rule!" Tears rolled down her cheeks. "No, no, no! No more! She can't punish you if…" She sobbed and tried to run.

Cain caught her, holding her close to his chest. She didn't fight him and that alarmed him more than the outburst. "Raw, can you do anything?"

The Viewer had tears caught in his fur, but he laid a hand on DG's head. "Be calm. DG, listen to Cain. Come from dark road. Find heart and courage again. Please be calm." Raw's voice or his gifts worked. Her sobbing quieted, but she didn't lift her head from his chest.

A roaring Cain had never heard before echoed through the forest that housed the camp. Jeb jumped and ran to the doorway. Zack put his forehead on the table with an audible thump. "And cue the dragon."

"Is it coming this way?" Jeb asked as it roared again.

"I don't think so. Sounds like it's headed that way." Zack pointed to the northeast.

"Dad, take DG to her tent. That'll have my men distracted." Jeb plunged out of the doorway, and Cain followed with DG scooped into his arms. His son was already getting the men in line. Cain's long legs strode across the camp. DG didn't say anything as he eased them through the canvas flaps.

He sat her on her cot, and she still didn't say anything. "Can you put up a silencing spell? We need to talk."

She set the knife on the pillow and drew her hand over her head. "Set," she slid off the cot to kneel.

He set his hat on a stool and squatted in front of her. "DG, what's wrong?"

"I can't do this any more. I can't fight her any more." She stared at the ground between them. "Not if she's going to take you from me."

"Who?" But he already knew the answer.

"The Queen." Her voice cracked but she continued. "The Generals agreed with me that you and Jeb should be warned that Zero was loose. The only one who can overrule the Crown Princess is the Queen."

"Maybe the Generals had a military strategy, and they needed me and Jeb unaware." He reached out to touch her arm.

She shied away, and he dropped his hand before touching her. "Everything has been to punish me. I deserve it. I let the witch out. I put the O.Z. through hell."

"Stop it. You were only a kid, DG. You saved the O.Z. when you could."

She shook her head. "Don't think, just do what I say. Don't leave the palace. Don't use your magic. You can't be trusted. Don't meet the people. Stop them cheering for you. I was the one who was locked away for years. You must wear dresses and make-up and the pretty crown on your head. Stop being ungrateful. Stop missing the Other Side. You don't need friends. You don't need your nurture units. When are you going to stop acting like you don't know the O.Z.? Stop fighting with your father. You have your family back, why aren't you happy?" She looked up with the tears sliding down her cheeks. "The Queen says it better with a loving smile. Hell, she might even think she loves me. No, she loves the little girl she sent to the Other Side. She hates the Slipper that came back to take her place."

"DG," he whispered as his chest constricted.

"I owed it to the O.Z. to take it. I have to fix what the witch broke. I don't need her love." She touched the silver locket resting against her chest. "I had a mother and father. I made Glitch take me back to Milltown, to find out how much was faked from Father Vue. They didn't have to give me this! It wasn't part of their programming. They hated having to hurt me by keeping me trapped on the farm. But they knew I was going to fix everything, so they did their best. I could be strong for them, for you and Glitch and Raw. I would do what the Queen wanted, as much as I could stomach. No matter how it wasn't me. I survived being erased once, what's a few more times until the O.Z. is whole?"

Her hands fell to her lap. "I can't live with her attacking you."

"I wasn't attacked, Darlin'."

Her head jerked back up. "What reason is there for you not to know about Zero? He wants to kill you!" She closed her eyes. "I grabbed the knife 'cause I wanted her dead and I didn't know if my magic would do it."

Cain took a deep breath, but didn't feel like any air got to his lungs. "You're not a traitor, you're just upset. It's gonna be alright. "

"She attacked you. She already fired Glitch. I don't know what she will do to Raw. Just because you side with me and call me friend. That's war, Cain. But I won't send you into battle; I'm loyal. Even if she doesn't deserve my loyalty."

He knelt, moving closer to her. "DG." His voice had never sounded so rough. She shook as he said her name. "There is no war."

Her shoulders flared back, and she looked him unflinching in the eye. "Jeb can spare two soldiers to escort me back to the Central City Palace. You keep Glitch and Raw safe. You're the only one who can."

"What are you going to do?"

"Give her back her light."

"WHAT!"

She didn't move. "She'll be strong enough to rule again. She won't have to worry about an embarrassment inheriting the throne after her."

He grabbed her shoulders and shook them. "No, you will not!"

"She might not even want it back. She might be happy just to wipe my memories and make me a little Stepford Princess, a doll brought to life to be the perfect fucking princess she never gave birth to!" Cain released her shoulders, but she grabbed two fistfuls of his duster. "No matter what happens, I won't be here anymore. I can't protect any of you. You're the only one who can! Promise me, Tin Man! Promise me you'll keep Glitch and Raw safe!"

Cain gripped her arms. "No."

"You have to!"

"I'm not making that promise to you."

"It's the only way to heal the O.Z.!"

He shook her. "The O.Z. doesn't need any more blood spilt on it, no matter how willing you are." He let her go and she sank back on her heels, not looking at him. There was only one solution. He felt colder than he felt coming out of the iron suit. He would survive without her some how. It would be easier knowing she was happy. "You're going back to the Other Side."

"You want me to cut and run, Wyatt Cain?"

His lips twitched. "Yes, run back to your peanut butter and pizza and motorcycle. Forget about the O.Z. and be happy again, back home."

"But that won't work!" DG jumped up to her feet and clutched at her head in frustration. "The Other Side wasn't home either! I just miss it because for fifteen years it was all I knew."

Cain stood up. "Then where's home?"

"Where your heart is." She dropped her arms. "Home is where your heart is; Popsicle always told me that. It wasn't in the programming." She had a glimmer of hope in her bloodshot eyes. "He had to tell me that because he loved me, right?"

"I'm sure that's why." He laid his fingers on her arms. He had to ask, but it would kill him as sure as a bullet, if she answered the cave. "Where is your heart, DG?"

She closed her eyes. "I gave it to a Tin Man who said he didn't have one." She stepped forward and laid her ear on his chest. "Still beating." It was beating hard enough to split his chest. "I guess I managed to fix one thing in the O.Z."

He wrapped his arms around her, pressing his cheek against the top of her head. He had to swallow a couple of times to regain his voice. "We can't have a heartless Princess. I guess I'm going to have to marry you, so you'll believe you have mine."

DG pulled her head back to stare at him, but didn't move her arms from around him. "Are you proposing to me, Tin Man?"

He smirked. "How many Princesses are available? And I've been falling for you since you let me out of the suit." He stroked her cheek, keeping his right arm planted around her waist.

"You haven't even kissed me yet."

"Well, that's your fault. You've delivered about five blows to my head today alone. No wonder I've gotten it all out of order." DG started to protest, but he crushed his lips against hers. She relaxed against his arms. His left hand cupped the back of her head and tipped it back. Her lips parted, letting his tongue dart in. She arched against him.

He let go of her lips, and touched his forehead to hers. "Yes," she whispered. He opened his eyes. "My answer is yes."

"No offering your mother your light? No offering your marbles to get erased?" She shook her head, rocking her forehead against his. "What about going to the Other Side?"

"Only if you go with me."

Cain stroked her back and she pressed harder against him. "I'd like to see where you grew up. And since my scary Tin Man face doesn't affect Zack, New York City sounds interesting. Do you think there'd be objections over a honeymoon on the Other Side?"

DG shifted her head to his chest. "Yes, but I'm ready to zap the people objecting. What good is being a Princess when nobody listens to you?"

"They're gonna start listening." He had something else to add; maybe along the idea of he would make them. But DG pulled his head down and kissed him. He gasped for breath as she trailed kisses down his neck. "Darlin'." He sat on the cot with her straddling his lap, unsure of how that move had happened and vaguely not caring as her tongue probed his mouth. He groaned into the kiss as she ran her fingers through his hair and down to his shoulders. His hands ran down her back to squeeze her backside, and she arched against him in response.

Her hands started attacking the buttons of his vest. He grabbed them, keeping them closed in his own. "Slow down, DG."

"Oh hell," her breathing was just as ragged as his. "Teasing me for months with those pants, staying off limits, and being so… so you! Damnit, you can't do this to me!"

He eased her back on his lap, and rested his hands on her hips. "Going through an emotional wringer is hardly perfect circumstances." Her frustrated face was adorable. "You need some time."

"No, I don't. I need you."

"Okay, then I needs some time."

She placed her hands on his chest, apologetic. "I'm pushing too fast after Adora. I'm sorry. I can wait until you're ready."

Cain chuckled as he kissed her right hand's palm. "You just went from suicidal to trying to ravish me. Give me time to process that, Princess." She smiled, and his heart leapt to see the gleam in her blue eyes again. "Besides, you're forgetting political reality."

"I already told them I'm marrying for love."

"And you don't want it annulled because of treason." Her eyes widened as she sputtered, and he kissed her. "It's an old law, hasn't been enforced in years, but you and the House of Gale have enough enemies that might use it."

"Oh, that is just too messed up," DG sighed. "Pre-marital sex with a princess is treason." Cain nodded. "Does Jeb have a chaplain in his unit, a priest, someone who could marry us?"

He grinned, "You're serious?"

"Yes! DG is tired of not getting what she wants because of somebody else's stupid rules! Let's get married and rock my world, Tin Man."

She scrambled off, but he pulled her back down sitting across his legs. "Hold on." She relaxed against him. "You're not a virgin."

Her body stiffened. "Is that a deal breaker?" she whispered.

"No, of course not." He fought down a surge of jealousy. "It's just…. Things are different on the Other Side."

"I already traumatized Az with their sexual revolution. For a week, all she could say was 'I can't believe Father agreed for you to go.' I had sex once and it was a mistake. I didn't go work the Sin District."

"Why was it a mistake?" He hugged her closer.

"I thought it was something it wasn't, and I was rebelling a little bit. In case you're thinking Mom and Dad didn't cover the wait until you're married topic, they did. Jimmy Gulch took me to Senior Prom."

"The man who gave you the speeding ticket?"

"No, that was Elmer. Jimmy is his cousin. Prom is a ball the school gives to celebrate that you're almost done and to give you some experience with fancy clothes." She sighed, "And then I get over here and all the fancy clothes are different. Anyways, Prom is properly chaperoned. The parties after Prom aren't. I had some drinks, Jimmy was nice, I was always lonely, and I was tired of the farm and all the rules, so I said yes."

Cain didn't know what to say, so he pressed his head against hers. She had traded one set of rules for a worse set. And they wondered why she was cranky at the Palace?

"He wasn't my Prince Charming, but I thought it was something to build off of until life forced us apart. That lasted until I got back to school on Monday and found out he was telling everybody what a slut I was. By lunchtime, I cornered him and broke his nose. He told everyone he tripped and fell on his face."

He laughed and hugged her tighter. "You are just full of surprises."

"So are you." She sat up with a warm smile. "I need to make you laugh more. So the getting married right now idea?"

"DG, you deserve better than an ad hoc ceremony in the middle of the woods. What about your family?"

Her blue eyes blazed with anger. "No. You might talk me out of the right now, but she threatened you. And Ahamo will turn into an ass. They are not welcome at my wedding until I'm sure they won't have you assassinated behind my back. Az I would like, but I don't know how, 'cause I'm not taking you back to the Palace until after we're married." He knew that expression, and there was no changing her mind. "Unless Jeb has a problem with us."

"No worries there." He smirked. "I omitted certain details about my old ring."

"You lied? Doesn't that give you a Tin Man demerit point?"

"I didn't lie. I omitted that Jeb pulled it off my hand while ranting that you probably thought I was still hung up on Adora. And then he made me go buy these." He took out the jewelry box and set it on her lap. "And then I tried to dodge it because what business does a Princess have with an old broken Tin Man and left them with him, and damn if he didn't bring them here." She shuddered. "DG?"

Her eyes flew open. "I'm here. I'm okay." She opened the jewelry box. Two gold bands nestled in between the mounds of white fabric. Each had a round cut star sapphire embedded in the metal. The blue of the stone matched DG's eyes, while the star that shimmered inside the stone matched the blue of Cain's. "Wow. They're wedding bands, right?" Cain nodded. "Wow. They're beautiful." She wrapped her arms around his neck. "Great taste in jewelry," she looked him in the eye, "and this broken Princess wouldn't want anyone else, Wyatt. Never," she whispered.

He cupped her face in his hands and kissed her, pouring everything he couldn't find words for into the sensation. "I love you," he whispered.

"And I love you." She kissed his forehead before studying the rings again. "Jeb brought these to you?"

"Gave them to me last night. Why?"

"I'm not sure. Maybe I'm just getting paranoid about riddles and scavenger hunts."

"Knock, knock," said Zack outside the canvas door. "And please don't shoot me."


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's Note: I'd like to bring my story to the attention of LiveJournal's Tin Man Crossover Fanfiction Community but I have no idea how to do that without a LiveJournal account (and nobody posts their emails either). And I really don't want to make an LJ account because I have enough online stuff to keep up with already. Any ideas?**

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Chapter Nine

Zack made short work of the three short pages of military directions and started to create a code book for the words that hadn't come up yet. He translated the names on map of the O.Z.

"This is terrible." Glitch swayed on his stool. "I mean it's not unexpected, the way DG's been reacting to everything. But I was hoping that getting her out of the Palace would snap her out of it."

Jeb didn't look from the measuring tools he used on another map. "Maybe if the Palace used her strengths instead of breaking her, she would be fine."

Zack left the kanji for strength and break on the list.

"I have been trying! And hampered at every turn. Now we have a headcase Princess without even getting her marbles removed."

"Cain fix," Raw declared.

"Oh please, Fuzzy, the TinMan isn't screwed real tight either."

"Hey!" Jeb did look up with that.

"No offense, Jeb. But he already knows. I told him all about it after his tumble out of the Northern Palace. Unfortunately, all the names I remembered for referrals had been killed by the witch. I think she must have had something against the field of psychiatric medicine."

Zack bit his lip. Now he had the kanji for medicine and witch, but he had been trying to remember the one for road.

Raw shook his head. "Glitch afraid he hurt trying to help."

"I didn't supervise her lessons with Tutor, I didn't stop her from reading every communication that came for her, I didn't help her sneak around the Palace to do something she wasn't allowed to. And I left her alone so many times."

"To be with Azkadellia. DG understands."

Glitch's shoulders slumped. "I'm DG's chief advisor and I couldn't save her with all my marbles."

Zack pushed back his black bangs. "Captain, just give me a list of words you think the Longcoats will probably use and I'll give you translations. This way is not working, unless you want Glitch's speech in Japanese."

"No, once is enough." Jeb shook his head and turned back to the map.

Zack patted Glitch on the back. "She's a fighter. She doesn't know what to fight for."

"If she fights her mother, it will tear the O.Z. apart." Glitch didn't meet Zack's eyes. "She won't do that."

"Glitch stop worrying. Can't do anything without DG."

"Raw is right. Think about something else." Zack moved to the doorway. "I'll be by our tents." Jeb nodded. He meandered to the log near their tents. DG's tent had a golden glow on it. Working magic had to be a good sign. Raw set his booksack at Zack's feet and sat beside him. "I don't need babysitting."

"Your mind quiet. Soothing."

"I guess it's not much fun being an empath around this crowd."

"Most time happy." Raw heaved a sigh. "Zack misses sister."

"DG reminds me of her, before she found Mike."

Raw's dark cat-eyes closed briefly. "Her mate and your brother." He looked at Zack curiously.

"Do you have adoption in the O.Z.? 'Cause otherwise, it's complicated."

"Viewers have fostering. Raw have son not of flesh. Not so common with humans." His gaze turned to the glowing tent. "DG was fostered. People don't think of that when trying to understand her."

"I think that's the most I've heard you say."

"Feel more when quiet."

Zack was about to ask a question about DG and her birth mother when a woman in a long, brown suede skirt and matching jacket appeared right in front of them and sagged to the ground. He wrapped his arms around her waist before she hit. "Easy!"

She turned her face to him but her brown eyes weren't focusing. "Where's DG?"

"Raw get Glitch." The Viewer was gone before Zack could say anything.

He heaved the woman onto the log and kept one hand on. "I don't know what you just did, but it took a lot of your chi." He pulled his booksack over using his foot and took out a granola bar. "Eat to restore your energy level."

Her waxen face gazed up. "Where's DG? She won't talk to me!"

He unwrapped the bar, put it into her hand, and brought the hand to her lips. "Eat before you pass out. DG is fine." He hoped he wasn't lying to her.

She chewed on the granola, but didn't stop staring at him. "You're not a wizard," she said after swallowing.

"No, I just know a couple."

"Azkadellia!" Glitch skidded to a stop on the other side of the log, plopped on it, and wrapped his arms around her. Zack barely had time to move his hand out of the way. "How did you get here?" Glitch swept his hand along the twist her hair was tied up in.

"I teleported."

Glitch sat up, and his mouth hung open. "Do you have any idea how dangerous that was?"

"I had to get to DG! I felt her panic and fear, but she wouldn't tell me what was happening. She slammed her mind shut on me." Tears filled her brown eyes. "Nobody is going to hurt my little sister! Besides, the witch could do it, so I should be able to."

Glitch gaped like a fish for a few more moments. "But the witch didn't try to do it across the whole O.Z.! You used up nearly all your magic! What if we were in the middle of a fight?"

"She told me you made it to Captain Cain's camp. That's why I didn't know what had happened." Color returned to her cheeks as she finished the granola bar. "And you're not telling me either, Ambrose. What's wrong?"

"I'll go get DG, but she needs some more food." Zack stuck his head between the glowing field and the tent without having to go inside. DG and Cain were talking, but she didn't sound hysterical. "Knock, knock," he said to the canvas door. "And please don't shoot me. DG, your sister is here."

"Az? What? How?" She thrust her head out of the tent, and made to follow through with the rest of her body.

Zack stopped her. "Glitch is chewing her out right now. Wash your face and then take your turn." DG huffed and dropped the tent flap. It landed on Zack, so he could still see into the tent.

Cain handed DG a rung-out washcloth with a smug smirk. "What are you laughing at?" she asked him.

"You, charging ahead and not giving a damn what your face looks like after a crying fit."

She blew a raspberry at him. "If it makes you feel any better, that's weird behavior on the Other Side too."

He shook his head as he picked a jewelry box off the cot and set his hat back on his blond head. "It's not weird to just be you, Princess."

"How do you do that?" She hung the washcloth on the washstand, looking a little more pulled together, even though her eyes were still bloodshot.

"Trade secret." Cain guided her out of the tent with his hand on the small of her back. Zack trailed after them, grinning. Raw should have taken bets.

"Geez, Az!" DG ran to her sister, grabbed her hand, and sat down on the woman's left side. A soft yellow glow surrounded their hands, and Az's color darkened. "What did you do?"

"I teleported. You wouldn't tell me what was wrong!" Az nudged Glitch and he let her go, so she could grip DG's chin and turn her head to see her face. "Who do I kill?"

"Azkadee," Glitch said with a sigh. "That's the voice that freaks people out."

DG pulled her head out of Az's grasp. "Everything's fine, Az. You don't need to do anything. It's fine."

"Bullshit." DG's mouth fell open at her sister's anger. "I felt you. Our link doesn't work that way and you know it. And you have been moping around the Palace badly hiding it from me, and Ambrose won't discuss his worry. You are not fine, you haven't been fine, so don't even try to hide behind that." DG tried to speak, but couldn't get a sound out. "And don't hide behind Az was possessed by the witch either. I'm stronger than you give me credit for."

DG looked unconvinced. "That's right, doll. She hasn't had a nightmare for a long time." Glitch smiled as he squeezed Az's hand.

DG pressed the heel of her hand against her forehead and made a gibberish noise. Cain clasped her shoulder. "Tell her."

"There's too much. I don't know how."

"Raw help." The Viewer placed a hand on each of their shoulders. They closed their eyes and the light between their hands pulsed. Cain and Glitch both let go.

Raw let them go and they blinked their eyes. Az had tears in hers, and hugged DG. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"What could you have done? She's not on best terms with you either."

"I'm forcing her to work on that rather than ignoring me. But I could have talked to Father." Az wiped her eyes and turned to Glitch. "If we do adopt, you better not turn into an idiot." He blushed bright red. She turned back to DG. "Her imprisonment changed her, but I'm sure her intentions are good."

DG frowned. "The road to hell is paved with good intentions. I can't trust her."

"Well, we still have the problem with Longcoats and the Guild lords." Az looked at both DG and Cain and smirked. "And now you want to get married."

"We can wait until after the mission." Cain squeezed DG's shoulders as she looked up at him. "We can. You and Glitch have turned your single status into quite the weapon."

"Like hell," DG muttered. "But I'm getting the wiggies with all the coincidences."

"What are wiggies?" Glitch asked.

"Uneasy feelings," Zack explained.

"Oh well, upcoming nuptials have that effect on people."

"Wiggies for what?" Zack looked at the confused DG. "Everything is here for you to have a wedding, and that bothers you why?"

DG let out a frustrated growl. "Something shouldn't be here. Even Az is here. I feel like I'm being set up. Everything since I got to the O.Z. has been a set up."

"Not true." Raw patted her shoulder. "Stopping the witch, yes. Saving us, no."

"I was just in the right place at the right time, that's all."

"No. The Zone looks after you."

DG twisted to look at him. "What does that mean?"

"Zoe knew when we reached Hyrule," Zack offered. "She could feel it. Maybe you got a connection to the O.Z.?"

DG covered her face with her hands. "Okay, that's it. Somebody get me an encyclopedia I can read and maybe that'll fill in the blanks that everyone wants to leave blank!"

Az looked up at the Viewer. "How did you know about that?"

"Humans forget much. We remember."

Az bit her bottom lip. "What do you know?" DG demanded.

"There is a connection, but only between the O.Z. and the Queen since the days of Ozma the Great and the Grey Gale. It's all a bit vague. In return for good stewardship, the Outer Zone will make sure the Queen has what she needs."

DG stared at the ground. "I'm being manipulated again."

"No, the Zone doesn't manipulate." Az gripped DG's hands so she would look at her. "You needed Ambrose, Cain, and Raw to defeat the witch. But you still had to choose to save them, to make them your friends."

"So the Zone is saying it's a good idea for DG and Cain to get married now, but they can decide not to?" Zack asked. Az nodded.

"Is there a way to test for this connection?" Cain asked, frowning.

"I don't remember learning of one," Az answered. "But it makes so much sense."

Glitch frowned too. "Cain's right, it's just a theory that needs more research before we say anything. Unless Raw knows something?"

Raw snorted. "Human politics."

"You live in the O.Z. too."

Zack realized what Cain and Glitch just worked out. DG and Azkadellia's mother shouldn't be Queen if this connection thing was real. DG still didn't see it. "My vote is for the wedding," he said to keep the Princesses from thinking about it.

"It's up for a vote now?" DG muttered.

"Life is short. Why wait?" He rocked on his feet, hoping he looked innocent.

DG lifted her chin to look at Cain behind her. He stroked her cheek. "And then what? Continue onto Lord Gillikin's fortress?"

"We still need to find out if the all the Guild lords are loyal, so yeah."

He sighed. "I'll go talk to Jeb."

Az squealed as she pulled DG to her feet. "You are not getting married looking like that. Come on!" She dragged DG back to her sister's tent.

Cain headed toward the headquarters tent. Glitch looked at Zack. "I hope you know what you just suggested. As in you know what you're doing when you suggested it."

"I'm used to acting on my feelings. She's going to need Cain's strength."

"She already has that," Glitch said.

"But once they're married, they can't be forced apart because of politics. She needs that reassurance."

Glitch tugged on his long coat. "I hope you're right."

Zack picked up his booksack and headed to the headquarters tent. He should finish the code book now before wedding prep madness took over.


	10. Chapter 10

**The chapter you have all been waiting for. Hope you enjoy it.**

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Chapter Ten

DG had never been a girl to daydream over what her perfect wedding should be. She worried more now about embarrassing Cain rather than the lack of decorations. And Az distracted her with magic. Having not had a decent lesson from Tutor in months, she quizzed Az on how to make clothes and food appear. DG created the tiara to anchor her veil all by herself.

Her emerald green dress made her eyes even bluer, though Az's rejuvenation spell may have helped too. Brides wore green to represent fertility for the couple. Emerald green was reserved for the royal family. Her bridal gown clung to every curve the corset gave her with a flared skirt so she could walk. She could forgive the corset since there wasn't a ruffle on the gown. "Az, I'm going to have to give you a job."

"What kind of job?" Az adjusted the veil and tiara before stepping back to view the effect.

"Royal fashion designer. I'm so sick of the ruffles!"

"I asked Ambrose about that. His theory is that the seamstresses were trying to prove you're female with a vengeance." She giggled and DG giggled too. "I wish you'd change your mind. I'd love for Mother and Father to see how you look, Deeg."

DG grabbed both Az's hands. "I have to ask a huge favor of you, Az. I hate to do it because I sorta promised I would never ask you for anything. But big sister, you must have the big fancy wedding Mother wants. Please do it for me."

Az squeezed her hands. "Only if you compromise on a reception at the Palace."

"Okay, I can do that."

"Deal."

"Hey," Glitch sounded petulant on the other side of the canvas. "Don't I get a say?"

"You can say when," Az answered.

"Well, this one is about ready to start out here."

"Almost ready." Az helped DG turn to face the door. DG felt magic tingling behind her back. "No peeking," Az said behind DG's shoulder. "Consider it my wedding present to you and your Tin Man." She slipped out of the tent.

DG took a deep breath. This was really happening. Her heart pounded. She wished her Mom and Dad were here. They would have approved; they had no problems with her going with Wyatt Cain to find the Mystic Man. They were watching from robot heaven. The O.Z. was weird enough to have a robot heaven and that's where they were.

Glitch tied open the flaps of the tent and stared at her, his brown eyes opened wide. "Cain would kill me if he heard this, but Doll, I wonder if I picked the right sister."

"Aw, Glitch, you know just what to say." She couldn't stop smiling as she took his arm. "I won't even tease you about knowing about Az's nightmares."

He squeezed her hand. "Honey, I'm just glad to see you happy again."

Jeb's soldiers had set up chairs, stools, and logs to block out the audience with an aisle. Most had changed into dress uniforms, even though Jeb hadn't ordered it. The battered veterans and hardened youths all grinned at her as Glitch escorted her down the aisle. She grinned back. Raw, Az, Jeb, and Zack stood on the front row. She looked away from their beaming faces to the dais created by setting down some boards.

Her eyes glazed over the chaplain to focus on the blond man in the military dress uniform. She had seen him in it before, her brain insisted. He had the rank of Major because he was Chief of her Security; someone had explained that to her. He wore the dress uniform to the Victory Ball. Emerald green pants and jacket with braided trim in blue, purple, red, and yellow across the chest. Interlocked O and Z were embroidered in gold thread above the heart. Remember telling Az he was the only one who made the odd color combination look good? Who had came up with that anyway? With a dry mouth, she realized her brain was babbling. Who the hell was up there? It couldn't be Wyatt Cain. The corset strangled her, she couldn't breathe.

The stranger turned as Glitch glided her onto the dais and stepped away. The scarred eyebrow cocked at her, and his intense icy blue eyes bored into her. She could breathe again as he clasped both her hands. She gripped his hands tighter. He gave her one of his half smirks. Her Tin Man was here.

The chaplain had started and she had missed it, grinning at Cain. This was probably why they had rehearsals. So you wouldn't freak out and forget when you had to say something. The chaplain must have had plenty of practice officiating quick weddings with super-excited participants. He moved closer and touched her elbow.

"Princess DG, do you accept this man to be your husband?"

"I do." Oh good, that came out right.

"Major Cain, do you accept this woman to be your wife?"

"I do." His icy blue eyes darkened with a promise. DG's stomach flipped. She wished Jeb's unit hadn't planned a big party for her to sit through before getting Cain alone, but they had to celebrate with a reception.

Crap, she lost track again. Jeb stood beside them, holding out the jewelry box and grinning. Cain released her hand, took the smaller band, and slid it onto her left ring finger. No vows, right. Az had told her the whole marriage ceremony was the vow.

Cain held her left hand again. It was her turn to let go and take the ring. The cool metal shocked her heated hand, but she kept it between her fingers. It slid onto his ring finger, a perfect fit. She grabbed his hand once again.

"I now pronounce this couple joined. You may kiss your bride."

"Hey there, Princess." Cain said in a low voice. She jolted back to the witch's Tower when she realized he was alive and how much she needed him to stay that way.

She pulled him closer. "Hey there, Tin Man." Her husky voice didn't sound like her own. They didn't untwine their hands. His lips touched hers, and she felt her head exploded with fireworks.

He pulled back and the fireworks subsided, but the crowd cheered. Az threw up a silence spell over the entire camp then grabbed hold of Glitch, both of them laughing, cheering, crying or maybe all three at once. Raw grinned, showing his fangs. Jeb's grin fought with proper military protocol on his face. Zack also grinned but he wore a sword.

She wondered if they should take a bow. Okay, this was time to do one of those Princessy things. She held up her free hand. The audience quieted.

"Thank you, all of you for making this happen, for sharing it with us." Cain squeezed her hand. She needed that. "Because of our mission, our wedding just became top secret. But when we make the proclamation in Central City, I want all of you back from the field. And we're going to throw the biggest party the Zone has ever seen!"

The cheering returned but Jeb's voice broke it this time. "Present arms!"

Along the aisle, soldiers pulled swords out of scabbards and held them over the aisle. Zack and Jeb's swords met at the beginning. "Come on," Cain guided her down the aisle. He led her towards her tent with an amused glance at her confusion. "Military wedding. Short honeymoon, but no waiting for it."

"Finally, an O.Z. tradition I like."

"You haven't met all the traditions yet." He sighed, "You deserve better than an army cot."

"But I sleep best on your duster curled up next to you." She kept her voice innocent but her grin felt wicked.

Cain undid the tent flap and held it open for her. "Sleep is the last thing either of us wants right now," he growled. Her knees quivered but she got into the tent and cast a silence spell around it. The soldiers may be romantic softies at the core, but she'd rather they didn't hear anything. Spell completed, she opened her eyes. Her mouth fell open.

"DG, we need the door shut." She was in the way for Cain to finish tying the flaps shut. He nudged her with his hip, but didn't turn around to look.

She scooted sideways to oblige him. "Things are cramped in here with Az's wedding present." He turned and saw the full-size four-poster bed that Az had turned her cot into. "When she gets creative, she gets creative."

He hugged her, his hands reaching her waist, and put his head level with hers. "Issues with your parents aside, you and Az got some innate qualities from them."

"Hmm, maybe they skip generations then." She set her hands on top of his. An electric shock hit their left hands.

Cain jerked his arm back with a grunt. "What did you do?"

"I wasn't trying to do anything! Did I hurt you?" She started to turn when his arms tightened around her again.

"It's alright, Sweetheart. But Pooch will start with real magic lessons when we get back or he's gonna hear from me." He squeezed her. DG leaned back into him. His lips pressed against her throat below her jaw, and she shuddered. "Like that?"

"Wyatt," she grabbed his arms as he continued to kiss down her neck. "Don't mess up the dress."

He followed her collarbone over her shoulder. "You're worried about the dress?"

"I like this dress. No ruffles." He trailed kisses up and down her spine. "And you love the neckline."

Cain heaved a sigh as his hands grasped her hips. "Got any ideas on what to do with it? Or did Az make you a closet too?"

"Give me a minute." DG closed her eyes. Cain made it hard to concentrate, and she wanted to impress him. She pictured what she wanted in her mind before summoning her light. A tingle crawled over her skin.

He snorted as he released her. DG grinned when she saw the small leather trunk sitting on the bed. "We're not packing that around." He grabbed the trunk and set it down beside them.

"No, of course not. It's going back with Az." She untangled the tiara and veil from her black hair.

He took them from her, and put them in the trunk. "Don't you dare."

"Dare what?" The way his darkened eyes drilled into her sent a thrill through her entire torso.

"Spoil the fun of undressing you by helping."

"Tin Man likes to unwrap his presents all by himself. When do I get my turn?" She plucked his jacket sleeve.

Cain's laugh warmed her. "When it's your turn."

"At least get out of that jacket," DG pouted. "I know it makes you uncomfortable."

He straightened and she gleefully attacked the buttons. "How did you know?"

She paused on the fourth button down. "You almost sawed your neck in half tugging at the collar at the Victory Ball. And you never button your shirt to your neck." She looked at his tender expression.

His finger traced a line around her face from her forehead to her chin. "I didn't think you noticed with how you complained about your gown."

"I bribed a chambermaid to make sure it stayed lost."

"Corrupting the staff already."

"It was pink." She moved her hands up his broad, muscular chest to his shoulders to push off the jacket. He pulled her flush against him and delivered a scorching kiss first.

"My turn." He eased around her, kissing the back of her neck again. His hands ran over her exposed skin on her shoulders. She arched as he found the hooks holding the gown closed. He kissed down her spine as he opened it until he reached the corset. DG shuddered, "Another reason to hate those things."

His hands never stopped working as he chuckled. "Impatient, Darlin'?"

"You had to stop with the kissing," she complained. Cain's hands slipped between the corset and the dress. He slid the shoulder caps down her arms. His left arm slid between the dress and the corset to wrap around her waist. She freed her arms from the dress and looped them above her head and Cain's neck. The bodice of the gown fell down as he skimmed his hands along her sides.

His mouth found her ear and he nibbled on the lobe. She could feel his lips twitch when she moaned. "I intended to kiss a lot more of you." His hands slid the dress off her and he turned her to face him as she stepped free. He tossed the dress into the trunk before bruising her lips with another scorching kiss. He moved his lips down her neck. His tongue ran over the hollow of her throat and continued down to the top of her breasts.

His hands began to undo the hooks that joined the corset together in the front. DG whimpered as he kissed the skin each hook revealed. He continued kissing through the gauzy shirt underneath the corset. When he kissed under her belly button, he had to hold her hips to still her quaking.

The corset joined the dress in the trunk. Cain pulled the shirt off without preamble and kneaded her breasts. She gripped his shoulders so she didn't fall over. "Wyatt, please."

"Please what?" He stroked her hardened nipple.

"Please, your mouth. Oh please." She panted from the need she felt.

He knelt in front of her and put his left hand on the small of her back. His mouth drifted across her breast from the outside in while his other hand stroked her other. Just when she thought she couldn't take any more, he alternated his mouth to her other breast.

His hand ran down her side. He tugged her panties down her legs. He pulled her leg free and draped the knee over his shoulder. He grasped her hips, moving her even closer as his tongue probed her other lips.

How she found enough air to make the noises she was, she didn't know. Jimmy Gulch would **never** make a woman feel like this. Fireworks started at Cain's mouth and moved up to her head. When they cleared, she was in his lap with his arms holding her limp body. "So beautiful, my Princess. And just for me." His voice sounded triumphant.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. "Yes," she said after coming up for air, "only for you." She stood up on wobbly legs and tugged on the open ends of his jacket. "And you are too overdressed."

He moved closer as she leaned against the end of the bed. "And what are you going to do about it?"

DG grinned impishly and called her light. If she ruined it, she'd just have to get him another set of the silly colored uniform. She wrapped her legs around the naked Tin Man as his astonished face twisted to look at the trunk and then back at her. She ran her fingers over his chest, pausing to play with his blond chest hairs. She followed the trail down his torso, where he was hot and ready for her. Her fingers brushed down the length. He grabbed her up with a growl, pushing them both onto the bed proper. He laid her down with a kiss. "How fast do you want this over with?"

"What, it's a one time event? I thought we'd practice plenty." She trailed kisses along his jaw and neck as he pulled her leg over his hip. Cain laughed before kissing her again.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

The morning sunshine dimmed slightly by the canvas invigorated Cain. It had the opposite reaction on his new wife. DG burrowed under the blankets muttering something about eternal darkness not such a bad idea. He lifted the blankets, "DG?"

Her hand jerked the blankets out of his grasp. "Sleep. Leave message after beep."

Part of that made sense. He prodded the lump he figured was her hip. "We have to move out this morning."

"Married a workaholic." Her body curled up in a ball, tightening the blankets around her.

"It was your idea." He couldn't resist smirking at her, even if she couldn't see it.

"Leaving the tent is not my idea. Shoot the damn suns."

"You have to leave the tent. Jeb needs it back. I want you dressed before they start knocking it down." He tried to pull her out of the bed, but he only ended up with a sheet.

"I'm suing Disney. They lied to me my whole childhood. Let the Princess sleep!"

"DG, you're not making any sense. And if you don't get up, you're gonna miss breakfast." The bulge on the bed didn't move. "Will you get dressed for coffee?" A hand came out and pointed the thumb up. He hoped that meant yes, and left.

By the time he returned with two mugs full of coffee, DG had on her pants and something that only covered her breasts and brushed her hair. She dropped the brush on the bed and held out her hands for her mug with a whine. "I guess this is progress," he said.

She gestured for him to halt as she swallowed. She let out a contented sigh. "Okay, now I can talk."

Cain felt his lips twitch. "We were talking before."

"You said something before coffee?"

"It wasn't much of a conversation. You wanted me to shoot the suns and you said something about suing Disney, whatever that means." She had that look on her face that usually proceeded a _never mind_. "Explain it to me." He sat on the edge of the bed.

"I say that when I'm fed up with the princess gig. Disney is a company that filmed a bunch of fairy tales and made being a princess the best idea in the world."

"Filmed?"

"Um, it's like putting a play on a viewdisk to watch over and over. Anyways, I think I should sue them for false advertising." Cain nodded. "Are you going to drink that?" She pointed to his mug.

"I am drinking this. You can get more at breakfast." She huffed, handed him her empty mug, and went back to brushing her hair. He took a sip of coffee. "DG, I want to know about the Other Side, or at least, what you're talking about. Don't shut up because I have to ask."

She put her hair into a ponytail. "Okay, as long as you ask and don't look at me all irritated." She pulled her shirt over her head. "And conversations before coffee don't work. I never remember what I said."

"I hadn't noticed that about you."

She shrugged as she looked under the bed. "Maybe it's a sleep deprivation thing. I wasn't kidding when I said I sleep best on your duster." She fished out her boots and sat back on her heels. She must not have liked his expression because she scrambled to her feet. "No regrets about this, Wyatt. No guilt or being pissed off at yourself." She cupped his face in her hands. "The last few days have been hell, for both of us. But they got me you and you can't guess at the hell I would go through to have you." Her blue eyes blazed as she kissed him.

He dropped her empty mug and caught the back of her head, pressing her tighter before releasing her. He squeezed her shoulder. "We're in this together, DG. We can make camp a little early tonight."

She shoved on her boots and they headed to the mess hall tent. DG sat next to Az. "I don't think your new Slipper friend likes me," the older woman confided. "He ends up muttering 'I'm so glad I only have one' a lot."

"I remind him of his sister. Where is he?"

"He went with Captain Cain to teach him how to make a cocktail. Though why a captain in the Royal Army needs bartending skills, I don't know."

Cain chuckled as he buttered his toast. "You don't drink those cocktails, Princess. They're an Other Side way of blowing things up."

Az raised her eyebrows. "No, I don't know anything about Molotov cocktails. I was a speed demon, not an arsonist." DG huffed and attacked her eggs.

Glitch looked up from across the table from Az. "So it's not common knowledge on the Other Side?"

"It more depends on where you're from. Kansas didn't have any civil uprisings while I was there."

"And New York City did?"

"There were some terrorist attacks that made the news a few years ago, but I didn't pay attention. I didn't live there. Zack might have picked up his mad ninja skills then." Az opened her mouth and DG pointed her fork at her. "Don't you dare say anything about Father letting me go."

"I wasn't going to say that." Her huff was similar to DG's. "I was going to say that your violent tendencies make more sense." DG glared at her sister who daintily wiped her mouth.

Raw chuckled as he left the table. "DG only violent for those she loves."

"Thank you, Raw," she called after the leaving Viewer. She turned back to Az. "You can't teleport back to Central City and drain yourself."

"Actually, I need to go to Finaqua. That's where I sent Thaddeus to cover for me."

Cain frowned, "Thaddeus?"

DG finished off her coffee. "Remember the Longcoat who surrendered and then acted like a butler at the Tower after the Eclipse?"

"The one who knew where everything was and sang like a stoolie? Why is he working for the Royal Family?"

"He's working for me, Wyatt." Az shook her head. "That will take some getting used to. Raw vouched for him. And he has qualifications that he would rather employ for the House of Gale."

"He survived as the witch's Vy-Sor for seven years, annuals, without getting his soul sucked out or getting shot by Longcoats," DG said. "That's an impressive résumé skill in the O.Z."

"But you're okay with it?" Cain asked.

Az smiled. "He's not giving me traumatic flashbacks. And he's sneaky. That comes in handy."

Glitch grinned. "I'm okay with it, Tin Man. He bats for the other side, to use DG's vernacular."

"So how are you going to get back to Finaqua?" DG asked to change the subject.

Az raised her eyebrows again. "You're going to send me."

"I don't know how to do that."

"What is Tutor teaching you?" DG pushed her plate away and laid her head down on the table with a groan. "What did I say now?"

"That's not your fault, Azkadee. Tutor has dropped the ball on DG's magic lessons. The Slipper knows more about magic than she does."

Az patted DG's shoulder. "It's okay. Why didn't you ask me for help?"

DG twisted her head to look at her. "You didn't react well the last time I asked you."

"Deeg, that was four months ago. I'm better now."

A soldier cleared his throat at the door and Cain nodded. "Come on, we've lingered long enough." Az walked next to him. "Thank you for your wedding present."

She blushed. "Nothing is too good for DG. And you make her happy." She sighed as she looked at DG's back. "I didn't realize how unhappy she was."

"She hid it from everyone."

Az hugged him. "Take care of her and Ambrose."

"Of course." He awkwardly patted her back. She was his sister-in-law now, and she was right. It was going to take some getting used to. She embraced Glitch before taking DG's hand and disappearing into the tent. Glitch turned away, swinging his arms. "Zipperhead?"

"I'm alright, I'm alright, I'm alright." He shook himself out of the misfire. "It's too dangerous for her. I know that. I don't like it, but," he shrugged, "there we are."

"You two shouldn't put what you want last all the time." Cain stopped. He wasn't any good at these types of heart-to-hearts, why did he keep getting stuck with them?

"I wouldn't have pegged you for the type of wanting to see all your friends get hitched too."

Cain's lip twitched. "What's the plan now? Should DG and I pretend not to be married?"

Glitch frowned while thinking. "It would probably be safest not to advertise it, if you don't find that kind of subterfuge distasteful."

"I'm stuck with it now."

"There is something to be said for your direct approach. Lord Gillikin has been married for years and his children are younger than DG, so there is no need to use her status as a weapon. But Lord Quelala is near DG's age and last reported to be unwed."

Cain snorted.

DG came out of the tent with a far-away expression while trying to put her pack on. Glitch responded first. "Doll?"

She woke up with a near stumble. "Az made it."

Cain moved close enough to catch her. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, other than my magic actually doing what I tell it to."

"Magic is supposed to work that way," Glitch said.

DG shrugged, and didn't explain. "When are we leaving?"

It took a few more minutes than Cain had estimated. Raw and Glitch had to pack their stuff, and finding Jeb and Zack in the headquarters tent, the last place anyone had looked for them. Zack and Jeb were trading explosion stories, and he regretted having to put a stop to their enjoyment. Jeb hadn't had many chances to just relax. He ignored the fact that they were trading war stories with such gusto.

DG pulled the others away, so he could say good-bye to his son. "I sent a messenger to the Second Division with the information DG found. We're going to find the rendezvous at Gillikin River."

Cain grasped Jeb's shoulder, looking into his hazel eyes. "Be careful."

"You too. We got the easier assignment, though. The worst that can happen to us is getting shot." Jeb wrapped his arms around him. "Give me that any day over not knowing who to trust in the middle of court intrigues."

"I only trust who I got with me." Cain squeezed and released him. He felt Jeb's eyes on them while they moved into the pine forest.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve

The terrain through the pine and fir forest grew hillier. DG was grateful for the stairs at the Palace for the first time. If there had been terrain like this on her quest to stop the witch, Cain would have ended up carrying her.

The land the three Guild Lords of the Northern Territories controlled was southeast of the Northern Palace, she remembered from a rushed geography lesson. Snow covered the tops of the White Mountains that towered beyond the trees, but they shouldn't have to march through a blizzard to reach the fortresses of Lord Gillikin and Lord Quelala.

The incline leveled off and the trees ended. They stood on a hunk of granite, jutting out of the hills like a balcony. DG blinked her eyes against the glare from the suns and stared at the southern view of the O.Z.

Zack stopped beside her. "Wow, outstanding view."

"We are rather fond of it ourselves," an unfamiliar voice answered him.

The group whirled to meet the speaker, and Cain had out his gun. A couple stood outside of the trees. Their skin was colored brown as dirt and their long hair glittered silver, gold, and copper. Their green clothes looked just right for a ball, not traveling in the forest.

"Peace, Consort." The man knelt and laid two halves of a broken sword between him and their group. DG stepped closer to Cain's side. That was his title now, but how had this stranger known that? He stood and white eyes stared at her. "We come in peace, meeting the terms of the truce between our peoples."

DG glanced at Glitch on her left side. "Yes, you have." The advisor gestured for Cain to put his gun away, which he did reluctantly. "Forgive our caution."

"Your caution is understandable. It has been many of your generations since the Queen traveled through these woods." His white eyes bored into DG's. "My name is Oran. I speak for the Fae who honor the current allegiance." He dropped to one knee, but didn't lower his face.

The shock of Oran's first words settled into full-blown panic in DG's stomach. Must clear up any misunderstandings right now! "I'm just the Crown Princess. My mother is the Queen."

"The stories are true!" said the female behind Oran. "A usurper holds the human throne, breaking Ozma's pact!"

DG shook her head. "No, the witch that possessed my sister is dead, and my mother regained her throne, Queen Galinda."

"What will happen to the Zone with the pact broken?" The woman's eyes gleamed orange. "And a dragon returned?"

"Adsaluta, anger solves nothing." Oran stood, but did not take his eyes of DG. She steeled her spine not to cower before his weird eyes.

"And what will your response be when your brother's blood is sacrificed!"

"Enough!" Oran barked at her, taking his eyes off DG for a second. She took a breath and tried to calm her beating heart. His white, iris-less eyes met hers again. "Much has been hidden from you. This does not bode well for the oncoming storm."

Oran almost sounded sympathetic when he said that. Too bad he said storm, and invoked every negative she had about jumping into a travel storm. She put her hands on her hips. "Please, break the trend and tell me something."

"Your mother's reign ended when she gave up her powers, your Majesty."

She hadn't expected that sucker's punch. Her right hand flailed until it caught hold of Cain's. His grip was solid.

"All is not lost. The land recognizes you as Queen. If you surpass this storm, the humans must recognize it as well."

Something icy stabbed her in the gut. "I can't be the Queen. I'm the one drawn to darkness. I let out the witch."

Oran looked puzzled. "What is she talking about?"

Adsaluta answered him, quoting that horrible nursery rhyme. "The majestic Queen of the O.Z., had two lovely daughter she. One to darkness she be drawn, one to the light she be shown. Double eclipse it is foreseen, light meets dark in the stillness between. But only one and one alone, shall hold the emerald and take the throne. That is horrendously vague even by our standards."

"The Emerald of the Eclipse has chosen you twice, how much more proof do you need?"

DG's jaw unhinged with Oran's knowing things he shouldn't again. The emerald hadn't chosen her. The Gray Gale gave it to her, and Az stuffed it in the pocket of her jacket when they left the balcony.

Adsaluta stepped forward, and her ball gown made no noise. Cain pulled at DG but she couldn't move. "How soon the humans forget that duality is present in all. Are you afraid of the dark?" DG shook her head. "Then embrace your power, harness it, become the Queen the O.Z. needs!" The woman threw out her hands to encircle the entire world. She drew down and orange iris-less eyes bored into DG's. "You should go speak to the Gray Gale about these things. She's a witch-killer too, though she killed two."

"You want some more evil witches to wreck the O.Z. so I can break her record?"

Adsaluta chuckled and she stepped back. Good thing because Cain looked ready to hit her. "Take care of the dragon and your reign will be assured, your Majesty."

"Again with slaying the dragon? Do I look like Dennis Quaid?"

"You said you speak for the Fae who honor the current allegiance," Glitch said, before anyone could ask about her Other Side comparison. "Are there Fae who are not?"

Oran sighed. "Before the allegiance with the humans, our allegiance was to the dragons. A dragon has returned and the human realm in turmoil, many have flocked to it."

"And if I kill the dragon, they'll flock back to the status quo?" DG would prove she wasn't distracted when she blurted out a Slipper-ism.

"If you kill the dragon, there is no reason for them to be butchered," Adsaluta answered.

"You are too blunt with these things." Oran's white eyes glanced over their group.

"And how many more will die before you reach the point?"

DG held up her free hand. "Time out. Someone is killing your people because they want to follow the dragon's orders?"

Oran and Adsaluta both looked at each other. "This dragon is controlled by a human." Zack muttered something and Oran focused on him. "The Slipper knows. You have seen what humans can do with the power of a dragon."

"It's also not easy," Zack said. "The Dragon King was a shape shifter. That was his way into the dragon power structure. And they were pissed when they found out they had been fooled by a lying, power-hungry dictator."

"Would it be that simple." Adsaluta shook her head. "The human controls the dragon with," she swallowed, "blood magic."

"What is that?" Their furtive exchanges irritated DG. "I don't know anything about blood magic. How are we supposed to stop something if we don't know what it is?"

"It is forbidden," Oran answered, "the most ancient taboos broken for power. Even the Sorceress did not dare use blood magic."

"The witch killed people." DG wished she could remove the Sorceress sucking the wispy soul out the Mystic Man's mouth and he dropping dead from her nightmares. Even being locked in the sarcophagus paled in comparison.

"But she didn't use their deaths to fuel her magic," Adsaluta said.

"So when you said sacrificed, you weren't speaking metaphorically?" Glitch gulped when they both nodded. Raw whimpered behind Cain.

DG tightened her grip on Cain's hand. How royal would hurling right here and now be? Cain squeezed back and she glanced at her Tin Man. He was trying to hide it, but she could feel outrage radiating off him. She looked at Oran and Adsaluta. Oh God, they had the same expression that everyone who had to ask a boon did.

"We share a common goal in this, your Majesty," Oran began. "The Northern Territories contain the dragon for now, but eventually the human will target the whole O.Z."

"And eventually he's going to run out of willing victims and start hunting your people." Oran and Adsaluta both bowed their heads lowering their eyes for the first time. DG guessed that was her prize for correctly analyzing the situation.

"Who is it?" Cain's voice was as rigid as his stance. "Who is controlling the dragon?"

Oran answered, "We know not the identity, Consort. To our senses he feels like one of the Fae because of the blood magic."

"Then how do you know a human is responsible?" Cain didn't step forward, but seemed to loom over the two Fae. DG vowed to let him handle all interrogations if she ever needed any done.

Pain twisting Adsaluta's features. "My brother went willingly with Longcoats to follow the dragon. I felt his soul scream when release was denied." Her body shuddered. "Longcoats would never take orders from a Fae. They only see us as tools to be broken." Cain nodded.

"Is there anything else?" DG hoped not. She doubted she could handle another blow.

"Only our apologies for laying this burden on your shoulders, your Majesty." Oran bowed and Adsaluta dropped into a curtsey.

She could like the Fae despite how they startled coming out of nowhere and knowing stuff they shouldn't and giving her more bad news. Hell, not even her mother had apologized for the shit she had to go through to save Az and stop the witch. "It's alright. It's a threat against the whole O.Z."

They picked up the broken sword. "Your party will be safe in the forests. Our influence wanes closer to the human settlements, but we can keep Longcoats away while you are in the trees." Oran faded away last as he finished speaking. It was like they had never stood there.

DG released Cain's hand and turned back to the view into the rest of the O.Z. She was a traitor the second she woke up in the O.Z., with the debris from the travel storm surrounding her. She knew she was the heir apparent, even if her mother didn't want to make the formal announcement until after she was safely engaged or married. Most of the population accepted Az's possession, but no one would accept her as Queen. DG understood, and couldn't blame the people either. But she thought she had a few more years to get ready, to learn about the O.Z. She didn't even have her magic under control yet!

The land rolled green under her gaze. Cain's large hands grasped her shoulders and his thumbs rubbed against her muscles. "You wanted a test. Does that count?"

He turned her to face him without answering. His arms wrapped around her, and she sagged against his chest. She closed her eyes, soaking up his strength.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen

Glitch didn't often wish to lose his marbles again. But when he only had half a brain and got stuck on a loop, he forgot what it was. Now with all his marbles, he couldn't! He couldn't escape the fact that the Queen withheld the throne from DG.

Raw knew it, but Glitch hadn't asked him how the rest of the Viewer community felt. The Fae knew, and were bypassing Queen Galinda for DG. That only left the humans and the Munchkins to declare themselves. Cripes, what do they do now?

Honestly, it was DG's decision. But since she and Cain had remained silent about it since leaving the meeting place, Glitch tried to use the time until they made camp to plan various strategies. But he couldn't plan anything because he couldn't move past the fact that Queen Galinda had betrayed her entire realm. For what reason? The deep magic of the O.Z. justified anything; to go against it risked the existence of everything. Galinda knew this.

Cain called for making camp after two hours of travel from their meeting with the Fae. Flopping against a convenient tree didn't break the loop. Watching Zack try to teach DG self-defense didn't break the loop.

"Damnit, focus!" Zack pulled DG to her feet in their sparring area.

"If you follow that with 'let your light flow through you,' I'm going to hurt you, Mr. Miyagi!" DG crossed her arms.

Glitch glanced at Cain. The Tin Man focused on the meal he cooked over the fire, but he could see the exchange between the two youngest members of the group if he looked up.

"The only way you're going to hurt me at this rate is tripping over me in the middle of the night." DG sputtered a denial, but the boy overrode her. "Your mind is everywhere but now. You can't multi-task. You just steal energy from everything you need to do."

"I have a lot on my mind, okay!"

"And it'll still be there for you to think about when we're done!"

DG started to walk out of the sparring area. "You don't understand." She didn't get very far before Zack had her held up in the air. "Put me down!"

"I don't understand." He dropped DG on her backside. She glared up at him but he continued before she could say anything. "I was eleven years old when ninjas killed my brother. He didn't even know about the shit that happened half a century ago in Japan. My sister found true love that she can't reproduce with, so that leaves me to lead my clan. I have to go to Japan, I have to fight the Oroku clan's champion because those people really can't let anything go, and if I survive all that, I get to lead a ninja clan and convince them to become a law abiding dojo once again. Not to mention get married and have a kid to leave it all to." He stalked toward his black bag and opened one of the outer pockets. "Maybe after all that's done, I can go to Disney World." He took out a set of strange keys, pulled something off the small ring, and tossed the coin-like object at DG who caught it. "At eleven, I wanted to be a professional video game player!" He slung his bag over his shoulder. "When you're ready to focus, come get me. Till then, I'm going to study chemistry."

DG headed to Cain, who looked up at her with a half smirk. "You think that's funny?" she demanded.

"The only thing hurt is your pride. Otherwise, you'd be heading to Raw."

She sat next to him with a huff. "You think I had that coming."

"What job did you give him?"

"Talking sense to well-meaning idiots."

Cain grinned. "Are you going to listen to him too? Or is he just for everybody else?"

She stared down at the coin-like object that she turned over in her hands. "I don't know what he expects of me."

He grunted, but changed the subject, pointing to what she held. "What is that?"

"It's a yin-yang symbol. It was always popular with the kids who liked anything Asian in school." DG glanced over her shoulder at Zack, who had seated himself against a tree away from the group with a thick book. "I don't get it."

Glitch focused on the material covering his knees. Galinda was the only queen he had ever known; her reign started two annuals before he was born. He didn't like to count the Sorceress's reign as one. He had been welcomed into the Palace and the Royal Family as a child prodigy in his teens. She wasn't his mother, more like favorite aunt. Losing Azkadellia to the witch had hurt, seeing Galinda lose to the witch inside Azkadellia had hurt, being thrust to DG's side when trying to be fair to both had hurt. Gods, this hurt worse than all that.

Raw squeezed his shoulder. "Glitch confused and hurt."

"I don't think you need to be a Viewer to see that. I can't believe the Queen would do this. Not with how fragile the peace is." Glitch shook his head. "How do you find trust once it has been broken?"

"Depends on the reason why the trust was broken." Raw crouched next to Glitch.

"I could accept her not telling me about the ruse with DG's death and Ahamo's abandonment. I had lost Az; I understood her need to save them both." He clenched his coat in his fists. "This I cannot understand."

"Glitch was right to be loyal. Shouldn't question that." Glitch was about to correct the Viewer on what was under question when Raw continued in a softer voice. "DG scared. She thinks she has endangered us."

"Cripes." He steeled himself and nodded at Raw, who followed him to the camp fire. Glitch sat next to her, and she looked up with a tight smile before looking at the item in her hands. The coin had a small chain attached to it, to keep it hooked to the rest of the keys probably. A misshapen S divided the enamel coating into a black half and a white half. A black dot was in the middle of the largest area of white space and a white dot did the same in the black. "What does that mean?"

"I'm not sure." DG glanced at Zack, who still studied his book. "And I don't think I'm ready to ask."

"Zack not angry with DG." Raw took the bowl of stew Cain offered him before sitting. "Lost patience."

"I seem to have that effect on everyone." DG muttered, passing a bowl to Glitch before taking her own.

"Zack, food." The boy followed Cain's voice to the campfire and accepted the bowl.

Glitch decided it was now or never. "What are your plans, DG?"

She tilted her head at him. "Go find the guy leading a revolution with a dragon and Longcoats. Why? Was that supposed to change?"

"For your mother." DG looked at her food bowl to avoid Glitch's face.

Cain scooted beside DG with his bowl. "I was hoping to squeeze in a real honeymoon before telling her she has to retire, Zipperhead."

"Sorry, but when Ozma's pact is invoked, the safety of the O.Z. is at stake."

"The safety of the O.Z. has been at stake ever since I got here," DG said. "Makes me wonder how it survived before I was born. So what happens if Ozma's pact is broken? And what the hell is it?"

Before Glitch had been teasing DG about the state of her education, knowing how much she detested the lessons. Now he was incensed. She was a daughter of the House of Gale and the Royal House, and she wasn't even given the rudimentary basics of her heritage. "I'm putting that mutt on a choke chain!"

"I'll help," Cain offered. DG turned from Glitch to her husband. "I've never trusted Tutor. And considering that you kept me from shooting him, he owes you a lot more than he has paid."

"I know who Ozma is, the queen over the O.Z.'s golden age. And the first Dorothy Gale helped her gain the throne. But nothing was said about a pact."

Glitch took a deep breath. "She united all the lands, all the people, all the magic of the Zone under a single ruler. And like Az said, the Zone gives the Queen what she needs in return for good stewardship. She is one of your ancestors too. Her daughter married Dorothy Gale's son, starting the House of Gale."

"That makes more sense. I always wondered how a Slipper had any magic. Ahamo doesn't."

"Who is that?" Zack asked.

"My father, a carnie from Nebraska. So what happens if there is no good stewardship?"

"The Zone will die."

Cain glared. "That's not funny, Zipperhead."

"It's already starting! Galinda has sent wizards and witches to the Fields of the Papay. No one has duplicated DG's cure. The farms are still suffering. The only reason it's not worse is because DG is here in the Zone."

DG set aside her bowl, the stew barely touched. "Geez, Glitch, what am I supposed to do? Hi Mom, your daughter of the darkness wants the crown now."

"Why do you call yourself that?" Zack's dark eyes stared at DG from across the fire. "Because you killed a witch?"

"No, melting her was unexpected. Az's light was always stronger and the prophecy."

"That poem Adsaluta recited?"

"One to darkness she be drawn, one to the light she be shown."

"And that line means you're chaotic evil?" Zack shook his head. "It says _drawn_, DG, not _succumbs_."

"But I let the witch out."

Cain wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "You were a kid, and the witch took advantage."

"Cain's right, Doll." Glitch squeezed her hand. "No one blames you. You saved the O.Z. from her."

"What is dark magic that DG fears so?"

Praise to the Viewer for asking a question to make DG think. "Everyone pushes me to use my light. I figured it is bad, like death."

Zack snorted. "Death is just change. Plenty of dark gods aren't evil. Winter is darkness, and so is yin."

She held out the symbol. "I thought it was light versus dark, good versus evil."

"Everything is either or, the trap of binary thinking. Reality is both."

Glitch stared at the symbol in DG's palm. "How can something be both?"

"Yin is the black representing the dark, the calm of a deep lake. Yang is the white representing the light, the hustle of a city. But each exists within the other. The lake is full of fish and energy under the surface. The city has homes with oasises of calm. You must have both to have balance." Zack grinned. "You have light and dark, just like everybody else. What are you afraid of?"

DG stared into the fire. "I couldn't even keep my life straight in Kansas. I always screwed up. What do I know about running a country? I'm not getting trained for it. I don't want to be another Sorceress."

"Why would you think you'd become another Sorceress?" Glitch pulled on one of his dreads. "How could you think that? What do you think a Queen does for her people?"

DG shrugged as much as she could with Cain's arm still tight around her. "I don't know. I grew up with a president. Someone to look out for them, to be fair, to put on balls?"

"Yeah, all your instincts point to another Hitler," Zack chuckled.

"This isn't funny," Cain growled.

"Oh come on, the very fact she's worried about going evil means she won't." Zack shook his head. "Boy, I owe Mike a huge Christmas gift for dealing with Allie when she got like this and I was unconscious."

"DG cares about others," Raw said. "Evil ones do not."

"Exactly," Zack said.

"Will you listen to Raw?" Cain said to DG in a low voice.

"I'm a crazy mess." Her hands covered her face.

"No, you're not." Cain hugged her closer. "This isn't what you thought your life would be, and you haven't had time to adjust. But you can do this; you're the strongest damn force in the whole Zone." He kissed her forehead after DG uncovered her face.

"I'm not ready for the Queen stuff yet."

"DG, you are the Queen. You have been since you were seven. This is as ready as you get, Honey."

"Way to make her feel better, Zipperhead."

"No, he's right. I can't stay in denial about this. I just wished I hadn't trapped you."

"You didn't trap me, Darlin', you freed me. We're in this together." DG didn't say anything, but she squeezed Cain's hand.

"What do we do now?" Raw asked.

"Get some sleep, find a dragon, and then get the Queen Mother to retire." Cain released DG to clean up the cooking remains.

"Nothing like having a plan, is there?" Glitch grinned at the group. DG had saved him, saved each of them; she would save the O.Z. again.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen

Raw thought he was the first one awake in the camp, but he heard low voices. He sat up on his bedroll to see Zack and DG sitting in the sparring area.

"Buddhists call it the monkey mind, the non-stop mental conversation. It tries to remember everything for you and keeps reminding you to do everything right now. Monkey mind has no concept of time and a poor concept of priorities. You have to learn to shut it up."

The Viewer considered Zack's explanation. His people had noticed the same thing, but called it human mind. Sometimes it was very hard for them to come out of there. Cain could, Raw had noticed, but he worried if the man only did it to keep from feeling anything at all. Zack's knowing explained the human boy's emotional balance.

DG had never realized how chaotic her emotions almost always were. "The only time I can shut my head up is when we're in oh-my-God-we're-going-to-die situations and then that's all I can think of."

Zack chuckled, "Yeah, but that's not how you win a fight, physically or diplomatically."

"Getting angry has always kept me focused."

"Bad place to work magic from. And a bad place to try to win support from. And you can't always punch your way out of a fight."

DG looked at the ground. "Cain told me once I had to let go of what I had no control over, especially the past."

"Good place to start. I think he's more worried about your mental health though. I'd rather you not lose it in the middle of a firefight." Zack shifted his seat. "Master Splinter always prescribes meditation."

"You expect me to sit and chant?" DG chuckled. "You don't know me better than that by now?"

Raw agreed silently. He had observed DG sitting still only when she was exhausted, when Cain or Glitch sat on her, or when she was drawing.

"Believe me, I know. That's why I'm showing you concentrated breathing." Zack placed his palms together, and then pushed them above his head. "Breathe out." He pulled them down to the center of his chest. "Breathe in." Skepticism rolled off DG as she copied his movements. "Close your eyes. The breath is the only thing that exists. In with the pure energy, out with the negative energy."

Raw opened his senses more. His people had a technique like that before viewing someone. DG's doubts and anxiety eased.

Her eyes fluttered open. "Did you hypnotize me?"

"No. Feel better?"

"Yeah, like I finished a painting."

"It's a way to find your center, to focus your chi on one thing." Zack stood and helped DG to her feet. "Now, more self-defense."

A vision assaulted Raw. DG and Zack emerged into an unfamiliar courtyard of a castle. A white serpentine body as thick as the trees around Finaqua uncoiled in front of them with a roar. A hand clapped his shoulder, bringing him back to the morning forest. His eyes jerked open with an inhale like he had outran a pack of Papay.

Cain squatted beside him. "Raw, you okay?"

"Vision."

The man's lips pressed together before speaking, his sign for thinking hard. "You looked like you were having a fit."

Raw shrugged. "Seen past and present. First time see future. Future hard." He told before the Tin Man asked. "Saw DG and Zack finding dragon. Think it is dragon. I never saw that kind of creature before."

Cain's lips pressed together again as he looked over at them. DG shouted, having thrown Zack off her back. "Where were the rest of us?"

"Didn't see." Cain's worry for her made it hard to breathe. "In a castle."

"The next two stops are castles."

"DG reminds Zack of his sister. He will keep her safe."

Cain frowned. "We better get going, if we want to reach Lord Gillikin's before sundown." He stood up, calling for Zack and DG to stop.

Raw sighed as he packed his bedroll. He couldn't ease the Tin Man's worries when he couldn't ease his own.


	15. Chapter 15

**Author's Note: Just a heads up to whoever is following this story and not leaving reviews. Besides the fact that you are mean for withholding them, you probably don't know that this novel is completely written and I typically update Sundays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. However, I live in Louisiana and currently we are under threat from Tropical Storm Gustav. If I don't update next week, it is because I can't access the Internet not because nothing is written. Prayers or happy thoughts (which ever is appropriate for your religious preference) are appreciated, because wherever it ends up landing won't be pretty.**

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Chapter Fifteen

Cain gripped his holstered gun. The unease Raw's vision had inspired grew worse as the day wore on. Something felt off about this part of the forest. DG and Glitch hadn't noticed, busy talking about the Fields of the Papay. Raw had, and he scanned the woods on either side of the trail. The birds were too silent. The boy's expression was impassive, but he was probably too much of a city kid to notice something amiss in the woods.

Then Zack surprised him again. "Do you smell smoke?"

Cain inhaled deeply. "Yeah, a big fire. We're downwind of it and can still smell it." The underbrush cleared, revealing the dirt road that led to Lord Gillikin's fortress. Cain frowned as he knelt to examine the tracks.

"What is it?" DG asked.

"Lots of traffic, horses and people on foot, and only a few days old."

"People taking shelter from Longcoats? Or the dragon?" Glitch suggested.

"Marks heading away," Cain gestured down the road, "almost obliterate the marks going in." He gestured toward the fortress. His lips twitched. "I don't like this."

DG's hand slid along his arm as he stood up. "We have to go."

"Everyone stay sharp." His left hand held hers as they led the way up the road. All his instincts said to get her out of here, but where in the O.Z. was safer than by his side? The scorched smell grew stronger, but the vegetation was still green. The road emerged into the clearing and moat of the fortress.

Fortress Gillikin abutted the side of the mountain as if it grew out of the rock. The sheer cliff that towered above the fortress was gouged and streaked with black. The main tower was broken in half. Two gaping holes torn out of the wall surrounding the other three sides made it useless. The gate was wide open and the drawbridge was extended over the moat. Smoke billowed out of the ruins.

DG covered her mouth, her blue eyes opened wide. Cain growled in the back of his throat. A broken Longcoat dangled partially off the drawbridge.

"Lord Gillikin innocent," Raw said.

Glitch turned around examining the clearing as the suns dropped lower in the sky. "There are no signs of siege engines. How did they do all this?"

"Why bother with catapults and trebuchets when you have a dragon?" Zack rested his hands on his strange daggers.

DG marched to the drawbridge. "DG!" He caught up and jerked her to a stop.

She glared at him. "We can't waste daylight. We have to look for survivors!"

"Not by yourself!" He grimaced. "Glitch, Raw, take the north side and stick together." They nodded and started across the drawbridge. "Zack," he turned but the boy was gone. "Where did he go?" he growled.

DG shrugged. "I didn't see him. We search the south side?" He nodded and they crossed the drawbridge.

Inside the fortress walls, the smell of scorched wood mixed with burnt flesh. This battle was a couple of days old. Rubble from the tower and the walls littered the courtyard. None of the bodies crushed under the rocks moved. Cain hoped it was a quick end for them.

Tears gleamed in DG's eyes, but she didn't stop. He gritted his teeth, recognizing that her magic directed her, and he stayed on her heels. She headed to the back corner where the built wall met the mountain. An undamaged set of stairs led up to the battlements. But a small retaining wall had been created with rubble shoved against the stairs. Cain felt the hairs stand on the back of his neck. Someone survived to build a pen.

DG leaned over the makeshift wall. "Hey."

Cain peered in. A boy about two-annuals-old stared at them with eyes as green as DG's wedding dress. He clutched a small wooden hammer. The workbench with brightly painted wooden pegs to hammer into the holes sat beside him. "Hi. Walls fell down."

"Yeah, I guess they did. Are you okay?"

Cain heard the cocking of a shotgun above their heads. "Get away from him!" Hysteria barely under control tinged the girl's voice. "Keep your hands where I can see them!" DG pulled her hands up as she looked. A girl just recently in her teens trained a shotgun on them. "You too, in the hat!" He clenched his teeth and raised his hands.

"It's okay," DG said. "We can help."

"More likely here to finish the job!" Her shooting stance was perfect on the landing of the stairs.

"We came from Central City to see Lord Gillikin," DG continued.

"His lordship cannot keep any appointments now!" Her strained laughter leaked hysteria. "I won't let you hurt him!"

"We don't want to hurt anyone." DG spread her hands.

"Everyone's dead! And you expect me to believe that!"

Cain clenched his fists. There wasn't any way to reach her before she fired. Unless you leaped down behind her from the battlements like Zack did. She spun, taking the shotgun off them. Cain pushed DG to the ground beside the makeshift wall and pulled out his gun. Zack had the shotgun in one hand and his other arm around the girl's waist as she slumped against him. "Can I get some help here? She's heavier than she looks."

The toddler started crying. DG pushed herself up. "I'm fine, go." She reached into the pen cooing at the boy.

He took the steps two at a time. "What did you do to her?"

"Acupressure. She should be out for an hour, give or take." Zack helped her into Cain's arms. "She was freaked out over a kid; I figured she's on the good guy side."

Cain shifted her until her head slumped against his shoulder. "Where did you go?"

"Please. I've played enough Dungeons and Dragons to know you go loot the kitchen and the armory first unless you know where the magic artifact is." Zack went down the stairs first. "I think the Longcoats hit the armory, but I found some bullets that might fit your gun."

"I never thought I'd hear someone that make even less sense than DG. What if there were Longcoats still here?"

"They wouldn't see me. I know you don't trust me, but will you at least give me that I know what I'm doing?"

Cain sighed. DG had retreated to a bit of canvas stretched to make an awning behind the stairs. The toddler's chatter stopped when he stooped under it. "Is he alright?"

"He's not hurt," DG answered. "And I think he's too young to understand what's going on." Cain grunted as he laid the girl down. "Is she okay?"

"Zack says she'll wake up in an hour."

The boy ignored them to poke in the bags stacked against the stone wall. "She's a pretty effective looter. Food, first aid kit, clothes for the baby, a handgun and the shotgun plus ammunition, she even scrounged up firewood." Zack pulled out the bundle of branches. "Is this area secure enough to make camp in?"

"The welcoming committee here," Cain nodded at the girl, "probably had longer to scout it out. Start the fire. I'll get the shelter." Zack nodded and DG went back to keeping the baby out from under foot. Cain moved the canvas higher and tightened the ropes. Then he pulled out the gun from the packs.

The toddler sat beside the girl in the black dress. "Chershe. Chershe."

"She's just sleeping." DG told him. "Let her sleep. Are you hungry?" A hunk of bread brought him back to DG's lap.

He remembered Jeb at that age, moving so fast him and Adora could barely catch the boy. DG wasn't doing too badly. He set the guns down next to Zack who arranged the sticks inside the ring of stones. "Stay here with DG and keep the guns away from the girl. I'm going to find Glitch and Raw." Zack nodded, and Cain turned to DG and the curly-haired boy on her lap. She smiled and gave him her salute. He tipped his hat and strode across the courtyard.

Glitch and Raw picked their way out of the tower. "We found Lord Gillikin." Glitch's face was paler than normal in the waning sunlight.

"Dead," Raw added. "Fought hard."

Cain frowned. "Wanted to make sure no one could attack from behind as they go south?"

"Most likely." Glitch tilted his head as Cain led them toward the lit campfire. "This probably means Lord Quelala is our culprit."

"We found two survivors, a girl and a toddler."

Glitch paused mid-stride. "How does DG do that?"

"I have no idea, Zipperhead." DG and the child had traded places with Zack, who sat next to the girl groaning her way to consciousness. "Now, maybe we'll find out what happened."

The girl bolted upright, swinging a fist. Zack caught it before it hit his face. "Play nice or I'll put you to sleep again. Your choice." She tried to kick him. "Come on, do we look like Longcoats?"

The girl looked at the entire group. The child squirmed free of DG's grasp. "Chershe! Chershe! Pretty lady food." He threw his arms around the girl's neck and stood on her lap. "Want Nursie, Chershe!"

"Nurse is away, Hal." Her voice broke as she hugged the boy. Tears gleamed in her brown eyes. "You didn't hurt him."

"There is no reason for us to, Chershe," DG began.

The girl swallowed. "It's Chelsea. Hal can't say it right." Hal sat down on her lap. Zack leaned back, giving Chelsea space.

Cain sat between Chelsea and DG and the guns. "What happened?" He asked as gently as he could. She was close to losing her grip.

"Why should I tell you anything!" Chelsea wrapped her arms around Hal.

"Why do we keep ending up finding the basket cases?" Glitch asked.

Raw growled low as he sat next to him on the other side of the fire. Zack shook his head. "I helped rescue you to get insulted?" He turned back to Chelsea. "Zack Baker, Slipper, and they're good people."

"You knocked me out," she retorted.

"But I didn't kill you. Would Longcoats be that nice?"

She dropped her head with a shiver. Hal squirmed. "Let go, Chershe. Play bang."

DG picked up his wooden workbench and hammer, and settled on the other side of Cain. She made sure to sit close enough for him to grab her if anything went wrong. "This is bang?" She held up the hammer. Hal crowed, sprang free from Chelsea's grasp, and settled next to DG to hammer.

"Chelsea very brave with duty." The girl's face shot up to focus on Raw. "Lord Gillikin would be pleased. Your mother would be proud."

"You're a Viewer?" Raw nodded and she turned to DG and Cain. "He's your prisoner?"

"No, Raw is our friend," DG said. "We came from Central City to see Lord Gillikin."

"He's dead." A sob broke out of her. "The monster came and everybody died." She buried her face in the folds of her skirt. DG wrapped her arms around the crying girl, soothing the best she could.

"I guess that confirms the dragon then." Glitch propped his chin in his hand and rested his elbow on his thigh. "But was it in-fighting between rebellious guild lords or is it the first attack on the whole Zone?"

"What does he mean rebellious?" Chelsea jerked her head up. "What is that headcase trying to say about Lord Gillikin?"

"Lord Gillikin never declared his loyalty to the Queen after the Eclipse," DG explained.

"He couldn't leave. His lady," Chelsea's eyes brimmed with tears again, "she was ill when the summons came. She died last week. Did none in the Resistance speak for him? He supplied and sheltered them in the Northern Territories. That's why my mother put me in his household. He knew the Queen when they were children and he always said the Sorceress needed a good spanking! He was a good man!" she hurled across the fire at Glitch.

Glitch raised his hands in surrender. "Then his memory will be honored."

"Chelsea, we need to know what happened." Cain leaned forward. "You have to trust us."

"You won't even tell me your names, and I'm supposed to trust you?" Her face hardened despite DG's arm still around her. "You must think I'm on vapors."

"No need to be afraid," Raw said. "They're the ones you planned to seek for."

The girl looked askew at Raw, disconcerted with what he was telling her. He hadn't seen Raw get that look from many people, but he had seen the Mystic Man get it plenty. "My name is Wyatt Cain."

Chelsea's head swiveled to face him again and her brown braid almost hit DG in the face. "One of the Mystic Man's Tin Men?"

"A long time ago."

"You helped my mother get out of Central City." Her eyes widened as her jaw fell open. She twisted out of DG's hold. "Please don't have me killed, Princess! I didn't know it was you!"

"It's okay," DG soothed. "You were just trying to protect your brother."

It was the conclusion Cain would have made with their familiarity and sharing the same brown hair color. But Chelsea shook her head. "He's not my brother. He is Halvard, the twelfth Lord of Gillikin, now that his father is dead. I'm just his chambermaid!"


	16. Chapter 16

**Author's Note: I'm not under mandatory evacuation, and it looks like Gustav will be landing tomorrow. Hell of a holiday. Have to finish my preparations today because last I heard they are still expecting hurricane-force winds as far inland as Baton Rouge.**

**Everybody who reviewed and sent me warm fuzzies about this storm, thank you. And don't be surprised if I repost chapter one with a shorter disclaimer. I'm worried that what I normally use on my website (list everything because more is better) is scaring people from reading the rest. I'll probably use the LJ standard disclaimer since more people are used to it.**

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Chapter Sixteen

DG hugged Chelsea as she cried again. This time it upset Hal, and he started. Cain scooped him up. "Let's find supper." He carried the toddler back to the bags and distracted him by digging through them. It surprised her how easily he did. He didn't miss this portion of Jeb's life, she remembered with a jab.

Chelsea hiccupped. DG patted her back. "How did you save him?"

The girl wiped her face. "I shouldn't have been watching him, but his nurse…." Chelsea looked into the flames, embarrassed.

"She wanted to see a guy and asked you to cover for her," Zack said. "My sister always had me cover for her sneaking out."

Chelsea nodded. "Hal got hungry, so I took him down to the kitchen. I didn't want to call someone to his rooms and them see the nurse wasn't there. We were in the kitchens when the monster roared." She shivered. DG wrapped a blanket from her pack around the girl. "It tore a hole in the wall with its claws. It was as big as the tower! Longcoats started coming in through the hole. I locked me and Hal in the root cellar." She shuddered again and DG tightened her half-hug. "When I finally let us out, the monster and the Longcoats were gone, and everybody in the castle was dead."

"Raw is right, you've been very brave." Chelsea smiled at DG.

"Did the monster look like this?" Zack pulled a medallion out from under his shirt. "I'm not trying to scare you." He passed the necklace to Chelsea. The gold metal had a carved profile of a dragon's head with a purple gem for its eye.

"Similar, but the snout was different." Zack dropped the necklace back over his head and dug into his booksack. He passed over a binder folder. It had a picture of a green Chinese dragon coiled around a pagoda. "Aye, like that, only white."

Cain looked at the image over their shoulders. "That's a dragon?"

Glitch joined them and frowned at it. "That's not what the bestiaries have images of."

Zack shrugged, taking the folder back. "I always thought it was artistic license."

Cain handed Hal to DG. He settled against her with a yawn. She looked at the girl again. "You were going to look for us?"

"He's a lord. I can't take care of him properly."

"As a minor, Hal becomes a ward of the Queen until he is old enough to manage his lands." Glitch said as he went back to his seat. "And I doubt the attackers meant to leave him alive."

Chelsea didn't burst into tears. "All his sisters are dead, and they wrecked his rooms."

"So he is Chelsea's little brother Hal until we get to safety," Zack suggested as he helped Cain pass out slices of bread and cheese.

"That may not be enough." Glitch chewed as he mulled the problem. DG looked at Chelsea, who didn't look as upset since they were taking Hal's safety seriously. "Ideally, your cover story shouldn't involve Gillikin fortress at all."

DG looked at Cain as he sat next to her. Oh no, her Tin Man did not like where this was headed. The set of his jaw gave him away. She chewed quickly in case she needed to throw her opinion in.

"You want to continue to Lord Quelala's, Zipperhead?"

"It's not my first choice. But we're in the best position to find out if he's behind all this. And we can't send them to Central City alone."

Cain turned to her with his lips twitching. DG shook her head. "I'm the one he has to answer to. Besides, bad things happen when we split up." She tried not to think about the green crypt.

"I hate it when you're right."

"No, only when I'm right and it's dangerous." She grinned and was rewarded with one of his half-smirks.

"Why do you have to go to Lord Quelala's?" Chelsea pulled out a couple of blankets and a bedroll and made a bed between her and DG.

Cain scooped Hal off DG's lap and laid him down on it without waking him. DG stretched her legs out, feeling the pins and needles. He settled back, and then pulled her against his chest, draping his left arm over her shoulder and across her torso. "We have to find out where his loyalties lie. Somebody controls the dragon and the Longcoats. And he's our last suspect."

"Do you know anything about him?" Glitch asked.

Chelsea shrugged, "Servant hall gossip."

"Best kind."

"Lord Gillikin had problems with the current Lord Quelala's father—border disputes, water rights, those things. He made overtures when Ichiro assumed the title, but they were rebuffed."

"Ichiro?" Zack frowned. "That's his name?" Chelsea nodded.

"It's Japanese, isn't it?" DG asked.

"I'd put money on it."

DG twined her fingers with Cain's. "How long will it take us to get there?"

"By tomorrow night."

"DG, how good are you at making clothes?" She peered at Zack. "Az was proud of how you made your tiara. The only other clothes I have are my ninja gear and I don't think you want to advertise that you've got somebody who knows Japanese."

Cain snorted. "They're going to know you're a Slipper the minute you open your mouth."

"Ninjutsu is the art of invisibility. Sometimes, the best way to be invisible is right out in the open."

DG yawned. "I'll see about the clothes in the morning." She blinked. Zack was no longer sitting next to Chelsea.

"Okay." They looked up to see him grinning behind them. "I'll take first watch." He receded into the shadows without a sound.

"That was just showing off," Cain muttered.

"He wouldn't have to if you'd be nicer." DG watched Cain's twitching lips. Boy, she should have had a hint what he could do with those lips by how they twitched when he wasn't happy. She liked thinking about his lips better than what they were marching into.

He released her. "Let's get some shut eye." Raw and Glitch had stretched out on their bedrolls. Chelsea turned from watching them to set up her own bedding next to Hal.

DG nestled against Cain's chest after he lay down next to her. He draped his duster over them both, and then kissed her. It almost erased the wiggies she had.


	17. Chapter 17

**Author's Note: I survived Gustav but have no electricity. I finally got a generator today, but I'm a little terrified of running my computer while on it (I don't have to have the computer on but I NEED the air conditioner). So I'm giving you guys three chapters at once since I don't know when I can update again. I can check my email with my cell phone, but I haven't figured out how to do much else.**

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Chapter Seventeen

Zack paused in the hike. Chelsea lagged again. "He's got to be getting heavy." Hal had refused to let anyone carry him but Chelsea. Zack held out his hands anyway.

She swung Hal from her hip and into his hands. "I'm not used to carrying him this much."

Hal squirmed, so Zack swung him up on his shoulders. "There, enjoy the view." He kept his hands on Hal's torso, but the toddler was delighted to be taller than Cain now.

"Do you have younger siblings? You are very good with Hal, for a boy."

"No, but there were always kids younger than me when Allie and I were in foster care."

"Foster care?" Glitch looked over his shoulder at them when Chelsea asked. Zack remembered what Cain had said last night, how Zack wouldn't be able to fool anyone with a change of clothes.

"What happens to orphans in the Zone?" He needed information for a believable story. And no wonder DG got angry with her friends and husband. They slipped into an everyone-knows-this-already attitude without realizing it.

"Family members take them in, or neighbors. If you're old enough, you can start working and avoid the orphanage if you don't have anyone else." Chelsea watched her steps. "I was lucky. My mother got me a job with Lord Gillikin before she died."

"On the Other Side, people volunteer to take care of kids who don't have any other family instead of going into an orphanage. You can't start working until you're over eighteen annuals."

"That sounds nice."

Zack made a face. "Maybe if they had fewer kids. I always felt lost in the shuffle. If I hadn't had my sister, I don't think I would have made it."

Chelsea nodded. "I know I felt lost in the castle, afraid I would do something wrong and they'd dismiss me." She sighed, looked at the group again, and lapsed into silence.

Zack couldn't think of anything else to ask her, so he let it stay. The clothes DG had conjured up weren't uncomfortable. His black booksack was stuffed into the canvas pack on his back now. He wore his soft-soled boots with the trousers and hid his sais under the material. The baggy dark blue shirt had way too many buttons, but at least he didn't have to wear a vest. Both Glitch and Cain had vetoed that.

"We're here." Cain stopped the group as they emerged into the clearing. Quelala Fortress was twice as big as the ruins of Gillikin. There was a crane putting blocks into place on the straight west wall, and the moat was dug halfway around the fortress. The south and east walls curved until they reached the river that flowed behind the fortress, making the unfinished fortress look off balance.

"He needs to hire a better architect," Glitch said.

"Oh good, that's what I was thinking," DG said.

Cain looked up to the sky with a sigh. "Time to do your thing, Zipperhead."

Glitch took the lead. Cain and Raw flanked DG. Zack fell behind Chelsea, after she took Hal back, bringing up the rear of the group. They passed a stream of peasants leaving the fortress with empty wagons.

The two guards in purple uniforms watched them approach the gate. Glitch addressed the one on the right. "Please inform Lord Quelala that Princess Dorothy Gale is here to meet with him for her inspection of the Northern Guild territories."

The guard looked over their group and DG drew her shoulders back. "Anderson!" A younger man answered the summons. "Tell Lord Quelala that the Princess wants to see him." As Anderson ran off to complete that errand, the guard gave a small half-bow. "If your Highness pleases, you can rest here for his Lordship." He ushered them to just inside the gate where a crude bench had been set up out of the sun.

"Thank you," DG said and sat. She smiled at Chelsea. "Come sit, Chelsea. There's enough room."

Chelsea gulped, "Yes, your Highness," and sat with Hal on her lap.

DG continued to smile. "It's alright, I don't bite." Chelsea tried to smile back, but her stiff body brought her lips up to a grimace. Zack patted her shoulder, hoping that would help her relax.

"Princess!" He noticed Cain's grip tightening on his holstered gun as the young man wearing black pants, a crisp white shirt, and a purple waistcoat embroidered in red and gold shouted and approached them. He bowed as DG stood up. His black hair was tied back into a short pony tail at the base of his neck. "Lord Quelala, at your service."

Chelsea scooted off the bench and moved behind Zack as DG held out her right hand. "Lord Quelala, it's a pleasure to meet you."

He kissed the back of DG's hand and continued to hold it as he straightened. The embroidery on his waistcoat was a repeated small mons of the five-sickle wheel. "Princess, please forgive our lackluster fanfare. Had we known you were coming, we would have prepared something appropriate."

"I'm afraid this is a surprise inspection of the Northern Guild territories," Glitch replied as he freed DG's hand from Lord Quelala's grasp and hooked it to his arm. "Since none of the Guild lords answered the Queen's summons to court."

"I sent my regrets, sir. I'm afraid that we had much rebuilding after the defeat of the Sorceress." Lord Quelala waved his hand at the back wall of the courtyard set flush with the tower's south wall. "Though, if I had any inkling that the court was hiding your beauty, Princess, I would have found a way to attend." Raw growled at the end of that speech. "As it is now, we will have to struggle to find proper entertainment for you in my rustic home."

"Please, don't go to any trouble. I came as much to escape the pomp and circumstance as to learn about the O.Z." DG's laughter was strained to Zack's ear. "I like the informal."

Lord Quelala smiled, showing his teeth. "Then please, call me Ichiro, your Highness."

"Alright, if you call me DG."

Ichiro's grin grew oiler, and all of Zack's brotherly instincts wanted to push him in front of a rolling subway car. Cain probably wanted to make him the next star of _Faces of Death_. "It would be an honor, DG." A man dressed in a white pants and tunic approached the group. "I would be delighted if you would accept my hospitality for your entourage, and join me for supper. Political matters are easier to manage at a meal."

"That would be wonderful, thank you."

Ichiro's dark eyes swept over them and singled out Chelsea and Hal. She pressed closer to Zack, and he took notice of him. "The stories of your boon companions did not include babies and children. We are so uninformed in the North."

"We met along the way," DG said.

"Bit young to have a babe and looking to homestead," Ichiro managed to not sneer it.

"They're my cousins. My aunt just died and we're going to Central City to find my brother, sir." Zack said with barely masked contempt.

"Much too dangerous to let them travel alone," Glitch broke in. "The Princess put them under her protection."

"Of course, I would expect nothing else," Ichiro said matching Glitch's tone. He waved a hand at the servant. "Sigvat will show you to your chambers." He bowed again. "Until supper, DG."

"I'm looking forward to it." DG didn't take her hand off Glitch's arm as they followed Sigvat across the courtyard and into the doorway of the tower.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter Eighteen

After four flights of stairs and she lost track of how many corridors they had been led down, DG wanted to scream 'just stop walking already!' Instead, she tightened her hold on Glitch. She didn't like Ichiro, she didn't like this situation, and his castle was hiding something. At least, it wasn't empty. They had passed men dressed like Sigvat doing housekeeping. She sighed, it was all she trusted herself with in front of Ichiro's servant.

"I think he's trying to get us lost on purpose," Glitch whispered as he patted her hand.

She didn't think Sigvat had heard Glitch, but he stopped in front of a set of double doors and flung them open. He bowed as they entered the rooms, and shut the doors behind him. Tapestries hung over the stone walls of the huge parlor, and ahead were two floor-to-ceiling windows. Cain did his assassin check, and DG let him as she walked to the window. They were on the north side of the fortress, and the stones of the tower emerged from the water of the river below, without docks or gate in the wall for boats. She saw the corner of the tower above the fortress wall to the left. So that meant the rooms to the left faced west. There was a door on the west and east walls of the parlor.

She had her hand on the doorknob before Cain's larger hand wrapped around hers and the doorknob. "What are you doing?"

"Come on, Tin Man. You check because I want to see the view."

He didn't argue, only made sure he went in first. This room was for the rest of the guests, with two double beds and plain décor. A window was in a nook made by the bathroom on the north wall, but DG headed straight for the different colored stone blocks. The blocks were smaller and newer than the ones the walls were made up of, and the way they were stacked up reminded her of a window. "Damnit."

"What is it?" Cain came out of the bathroom and waited for her answer.

DG waved her hand at the wall. "The windows are bricked up. What is he hiding?"

"The Zipperhead is not following." Glitch leaned against the doorjamb. Raw, Zack, and Chelsea looked in behind him.

DG took a deep breath. "The outside walls go to the river, and here we are perched in rooms next to the river." She waved a hand at the window. "But the wall of the inner courtyard is set flush with the front of the tower. So he has blocked off space as wide as the tower and bricked up the windows. What is he hiding?"

Through the door, she saw Raw clutch his head with a moan. "Pain. So much pain," the Viewer whimpered. He dropped onto a settee.

"Put a silence spell up and a shield," Cain said as he ushered her back into the parlor.

"I should have thought of that." She closed her eyes and concentrated, working the spell into the walls. "And no glowing," she muttered before cracking open her eyes to confirm that her magic had done what she told it to. It had, and she let out the rest of the breath she held. Raw let go of his head. "Raw, are you alright?" Cain placed his hands on her shoulders.

"DG's magic blocks the pain." He shook as if to rid himself of the feelings. "Raw better."

"That's a good point." Zack nudged Chelsea when everyone looked at them. "Tell them."

She set Hal on his feet and he bolted around the room. Her face was red. "Where are the women servants? The fighting left plenty of widows and girls like me, why hasn't he hired any to work in the castle?"

"Having to hide a whole lot of Longcoats doesn't leave you with many household openings," Glitch smiled. "Still, Longcoats having to do laundry is an appealing image."

"It also means we have to be on guard against even the servants." Cain growled and his hands tightened on DG shoulders.

A knock echoed strangely on the enchanted door. DG nodded to Glitch who opened it once she had taken down the shield. Sigvat bowed slightly carrying a bundle into the room. "Lord Quelala presents this gift to the Princess and would be deeply honored if she would consent to wear it to supper." He laid the bundle on the table and bowed as he left.

DG sighed as she rebuilt the shield over the door. "Lord Gayelette didn't get me a present," she muttered.

"What do you call let you garrison the Royal Army at his fortress?" Cain tucked his thumbs into his gun belt. "Do you sense anything?"

"No magic, no poison." She unfolded the white cotton material. Inside was a pink silk jacket with red stylized twister symbols woven into the material. She laid out a pair of loose pants made out of the same material on the table next to the jacket. "It's pink. I'll give him points for the pants, but pink?"

"I've never heard such loathing directed at a color before." Zack moved around the table for a better view. "What did it ever do to you?"

"I don't like pink. I never have. Momster tried to put me in a pink dress on the first day of school and I freaked out. I was the only kid in town who started second grade on the second day."

"That's understandable why you feel like that," Cain said. It was on the tip of her tongue to ask why he found her life-long hatred for the color pink understandable, when Zack interrupted.

"It's a happi." He looked at their uncomprehending faces. "It's a Japanese outfit."

DG shook her head. "I've seen pictures of those. They wear dresses with impossible sleeves and huge bows on their butts."

"That's a kimono. You're comparing a business suit to overalls."

"My overalls never looked this nice." She dropped the silk back on the table.

"Yeah, I'm sure you mucked a stall in silk." Zack pointed to one of the repeated symbols. "Does this mean anything?"

"It's the symbol for the House of Gale," Glitch answered.

Zack met her blue eyes with Cain-like intensity. "Ichiro had this made for you. Your symbol treated like a mons, a crest. I don't know what you consider it in the O.Z., but back in New York this falls under stalker creepy."

"Stalker?" Cain asked.

DG translated the Other Side terminology. "A guy who keeps trying to force a woman to be with him by following her, insisting on dates, inappropriate gifts, ignoring that she wants nothing to do with him."

"Got it." Something in his voice made DG wonder if he had to deal with the situation as a Tin Man, but she reached for his hand instead of asking.

"So the choice to wear the pink, and suffer through dinner. Or not wear it and snub the guy who's probably starting another coup."

"It's your prerogative, Princess." Glitch kept his face straight when he said that.

"Stop using that word. I never have any prerogatives." She glared at the pink happi. Cain squeezed her hand. "Fine, I'll suffer. But this is the last time I am ever wearing pink. Glitch, you be sure to tell the seamstresses or I will hurt them!"

He grinned. "Yes, your Majesty."

"And he did gives us indoor plumbing. Let's use up his hot water before dinner. That'll be start on justice." She headed to the door on the east wall, assuming it was her room.

One huge bed with golden velvet bed curtains and a matching velvet bedspread dominated the space. No windows, so Cain wouldn't worry about sniper attacks. A vanity sat on the wall next to the door on the north wall to the bathroom.

The door shut behind her and she jumped as she whirled. Cain set two packs on the floor. Two quick steps ate up the distance between them, and his mouth slammed down on hers before she had a chance to react.

Not that she had another reaction than wrapping her arms around his neck and moaning into his assault. He gentled, sweeping one hand up her back to cradle her head. She arched against him, her fingers teasing the short hairs at the base of his skull.

Cain released her lips. "I knew this was going to be hard, Darlin', but I didn't think I'd actually want to commit murder." She kissed his cheek. "If Glitch hadn't gotten that slimy bastard's hand off of you, I was gonna break it. Then shoot him."

She kissed the tic on his jaw. "I wanted to backhand him. How long are we supposed to keep this up?" She laid her head on his shoulder.

"Until we get out of here. Which could be tomorrow, if we find proof tonight."

Her Tin Man's scent filled her nostrils. "You know, it's a shame to waste the privacy and the bed." She kissed his neck and he rewarded her with a shudder.

"DG, it's not safe here. Plus you'll be late for dinner."

She pulled back with a pout. "Dinner can't start until I get there."

He released her with a sigh to pull off his duster and hat. "As much as I want to flaunt what's mine in that slimy bastard's face, we can't afford to." He set his hat on the nightstand and tossed the duster on the foot of the bed. Before he had finished turning, she pounced. Cain landed back on the mattress with her straddling him, and she kissed.

Her hands found his vest buttons while she kept his lips occupied. And she got them all unbuttoned before he flipped her onto her back and pinned her arms above her head. She craned her head but he kept his lips out of reach. She sighed. "I'd love to have something to say to convince you that this really is a good idea."

Cain smirked, "Nothing, huh?"

"Nothing you'd believe any way. Why can't you just want to take your lawfully wedded wife who's throwing herself at you, and have steamy, hot sex?"

He laughed and kissed the tip of her nose. "Because it could get my lawfully wedded wife killed if we can't walk straight at dinner."

"James Bond never had that problem."

"Who?"

"Fictional spy on the Other Side. I think he's a good role model for this situation. He manages to blow up the bad guys all by himself."

"Your sister is right." He rolled off and propped up on his elbow to look at her. "You do have violent tendencies."

DG kissed him. "Considering everything we've had to go through, I don't understand why you don't think they're necessary."

"I didn't say that." He pulled her over his chest as he lay back. His hands ended up in her hair, and she quivered. He loosened her ponytail. His smirk stretched into a real smile. "Better."

She moved a hand under his vest. "That's not exactly encouraging me to stop."

"I don't always do the smart thing when it comes to you."

She rubbed his nipple through the cotton shirt. Her lips hovered above his. "That's not what I think," she said.

His hand found the back of her head and pulled her down. She kissed him, but wanted his lips on other parts of her body. He dropped his hand with a groan. "Gods, give me strength."

Maybe a change in tactics would release the pent-up passion and not derail the mission. "We could just take a bath together, since you're in such a hurry to get me back into the spy business." Cain's jaw dropped. DG reared back, alarmed by his expressed shock. Even if he was surprised, the most she had seen on him was wide open eyes. "What?"

"You think doing that," he had to pause while his lips twitched uncontrollably, "will actually get you to dinner on time?"

She smirked. "I was hoping it was a reasonable compromise." She rested her chin on his chest. "Okay, consider the suggestion forgotten." And to prove it, she would change the subject. "Why did you find my hatred of pink understandable?"

"You were wearing it when the witch killed you."

His words hit her like ice cold water. She sat up and shivered. Raw had shown it, she was so busy trying to understand what had happened to her and to her mother, the details had escaped her. But not her Tin Man.

"Hells." He wrapped his arms around her, pressing his face against the back of her neck. "DG, I'm sorry."

"That was an effective mood killer." Her laugh was shaky. "I didn't remember anything, except what would leak out in my dreams. But I remembered that?"

He took a deep breath before answering. "It was probably more instinct than an actual memory."

The tone of his voice hurt her. She lifted his left hand to her lips and kissed it softly. "Wyatt, it's alright. I'd rather know the truth."

"I didn't have to bludgeon you with it."

She kissed his hand again. "I'm not trying to get us revved up again. But I love your reality checks." She rubbed his knuckles against her cheek. "I need them."

He nuzzled her neck. "I don't want to break your spirit, even by accident."

"You won't, my Tin Man. You won't. You give me the strength to do what I have to." She stood and twisted with his arms still around her to kiss him. "I'll go get cleaned up now."

She didn't linger in the hot water long just enough to scrub everything with soap twice including her hair. Cain touched her shoulder as he went in after she came out wrapped in towels. She was ready to be done with this stupid meal, even if they didn't find any proof, so she could wrap her Tin Man around her. His safety protocols be damned.

Another damn sprang to her mind after she got clean underwear on. The pink pajamas were still in the parlor. She eased the door open just wide enough to stick her head out. Zack and Chelsea were playing with Hal. "Um, Chelsea?" The girl's head twisted toward the door. "Could you get that outfit and help me out?"

Chelsea scrambled to her feet and snatched up the happi. She had already bathed and put on a dark green dress. "Do you need help with your hair, your Highness?" She gestured at the towel wrapped in a turban.

"Please, I can't ever do anything with it." The pants were normal enough with buttons, but the jacket took them three tries before they got the belt tied around it right so it wouldn't fall open. "For the first time I'm glad I don't have a bigger pair of boobs."

Chelsea bit her bottom lip to keep from asking the obvious question. DG pointed to her chest and watched the girl's puzzlement change to embarrassment. "I'm sorry I didn't understand, Princess." She unwrapped the towel onto DG's shoulders and attacked her black hair with a comb.

"Just call me DG, Chelsea. And don't worry about it. I constantly confuse everyone with what comes out of my mouth. Is there a slang word for women's breast in the O.Z.?"

"Not in polite company!"

"Then I won't use it around my mother."

"Teats, but only men use it when they're talking about the Sin District."

DG laughed. "I guess I should stick with my Other Side slang then. How is Hal doing?"

"Zack found an abacus in his magic bag for him to play with. And he actually let Mr. Raw pick him up." Chelsea started braiding at DG's right temple just under her bangs. "Can I ask you a personal question without getting in trouble?"

"I don't know what the rules are for royalty, but I don't have people arrested for asking questions. If I don't want to answer, I just say that."

She started a matching braid on her left temple. "Are you and Mr. Cain having an affair?"

DG smiled, the girl was biting her lip again. "No, we're not having an affair." She saw the brown eyes flash disbelief in the mirror. "We got married three days ago." She held up her left hand so Chelsea could see the wedding band. Her mouth gaped as she focused on the ring. "We're keeping it a secret, because I might be able to get more information out of Lord Quelala if he thinks he has a chance to marry me."

"It's like a legend come true." Chelsea met DG's eyes in the mirror. "They tell stories of how you rescued him from the iron suit."

"There was plenty of rescuing on both sides," DG assured her. "I bet by the time the first anniversary rolls around, we won't even recognize what they say we did to stop the witch."

Chelsea took the two braids that circled DG's head and wove them into a braid with the rest of her hair. "The bards make it all sound so romantic. It wasn't?"

"Not my first descriptive choice. I'd have to go with confusing and terrifying." Her face looked bleak above the pink silk. The blue eyes shone like Finaqua's lake, but her skin was white as paper. She pressed her hands against her thighs to keep from tearing off the outfit.

Chelsea tied off the braid and looked sharply at her. "Princ… DG, are you alright?"

"I'm going to be the life of the party." DG took a deep breath. "At least, my hair looks good. Thanks Chelsea." The girl smiled at the compliment. "Do you see my boots?"

Cain opened the bathroom door dressed in a fresh pair of pants and shirt, and holding her boots. Chelsea excused herself. DG turned so she wasn't facing the mirror to put on her footwear. "I don't think they go with the outfit."

"What would?" He sat down on the bed to pull on his own boots.

"I'm guessing something that would hurt my feet like the stupid heels they make me wear to the balls."

"Speaking of that," he started buttoning his vest. "How did you get through the Victory Ball?"

"They sprung the dress on me the day of. What I did fittings in was yellow. And they kept adding more ruffles the more I complained about them."

"Being trapped usually makes you throw a bigger fit."

"If I had, I would have leveled the Palace and been locked up in the Zone's version of a mental hospital. Not wanting that to happen was one reason. And then there was you."

His scarred eyebrow rose at her. "Me?"

"You were already so uncomfortable with the whole thing. I couldn't make it worse by stripping to my underwear and burning the damn gown in the middle of the crowd."

He stooped in front of her on the vanity bench. "You worried about embarrassing me? Not your parents?"

She shrugged. "I barely knew my parents when they threw the ball. And they kept gushing how precious and pretty I looked, like I was seven again. By the time we got down to the guests, I was beyond giving a shit what they thought of me."

He kissed her. "You just keep surprising me, Sweetheart." He strapped on his gun belt. "Think you can worry about me tonight? That slimy bastard already has you undressed in his head, and I don't want him to confirm his fantasies." He growled as he checked his gun.

"When you put it that way, I can resist the urge to yank this thing off." DG hooked her hand around his neck and drew him down for another kiss. "Just to spare your feelings."

"Much obliged," Cain murmured against her lips.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter Nineteen

Zack surprised Raw with what he had in his magic bag that could be used as toys to entertain a two-annual-old. The abacus had proved a great distraction between baths. Now a pair of metal balls entertained Hal and Glitch. Hal rolled the ball to Zack, laughing at the pleasant chime it made.

Glitch rolled the second one over his knuckles and down his forearm. "It feels like a solid metal ball. How does it make that noise?" The other bedroom door opened, and DG and Cain emerged. As far as he understood human fashion, pink flattered her, but not with the waves of peevishness rolling off her. Cain just looked odd without his duster and hat. Glitch put the ball back in the box and rolled down his shirtsleeves. "And the plan is?"

"Politics is not in my job description, Zipperhead."

"But keeping us alive in enemy territory is." Glitch smirked as he shrugged on his orange long-tailed coat.

Cain turned to DG. "You think you can come up with food? Body guarding on an empty stomach qualifies as punishment." DG smiled and headed to the table. "Zack, you need to come with us. In case there's more Japanese stuff."

Zack blinked. "Okay, I think the Royal Army maybe a good career choice and trying to help the nice Princess. But what do I do? I've never body guarded before."

Cain took a sandwich from the tray DG conjured. "Quelala shouldn't try anything at dinner, so you just stand there and look intimidating. If something does happen, get DG out." His blue eyes bored into Zack's. "Can you do that?"

"I can do that." Zack was serious in that statement, but at the same time Cain's stare brought up amused memories of his sister. She had a very Tin Man like stare.

DG intercepted Cain's glare at Zack with her hands on her hips. "Don't do anything stupid."

Cain dropped his free hand on her shoulder. "I'm not planning on it. But I need you to promise you'll run, and stick with Zack no matter what."

She frowned as she dropped her eyes. "I'll run, but please don't do anything stupid." She feared what could happen to him if she wasn't there to protect him.

And Cain feared what could happen to her here. "I'll try, Darlin'." He lifted her chin and smirked at her.

Raw took over rolling the ball to Hal. The human cub didn't care as long as the game continued. Zack grabbed a meat sandwich off the tray and munched on it as he dug in his magic bag. He found the supplies he looked for and transferred them into the Zone clothes DG had made for him. The human boy had sensed that Cain didn't trust him. Not that Cain had made that a difficult emotion to notice. So Cain's including him confused Zack, but he was too accustomed to going along with things he didn't understand to start fighting about it.

Knowing DG was his eased the jealousy in Cain's heart. The Tin Man trusted Zack less than he trusted DG, Glitch, and Raw but more than others. The Viewer hoped it would be enough to keep them alive.

"Excuse me," Chelsea shuffled under Cain's attention. "What are we supposed to do against Longcoats? You took my guns." That still irked the girl.

"You can have the shotgun and Raw will be here." Glitch pulled the shotgun free from a pack after a nod from Cain. "Zack will need the handgun," the Tin Man continued.

Chelsea frowned as her eyes flicked from Raw back to Cain. He didn't know what she had been told about Viewers, but fighting skills must not been part of it. "I'll leave the shield up," DG added. "They won't be able to get through that." Raw felt relief. Neither would the pain that radiated off the stone this fortress was built out of. Chelsea wasn't convinced.

Zack pulled a leather belt out of his magic bag. "I found this gun at the Longcoat camp."

Chelsea's slim hand plucked it from the holster and Zack swallowed his surprise. He had expected Cain to do that. "This is Longcoat design; you can't be seen with it. But I can use it." She cracked open the long barrel surrounded by a mass of wires and smaller cylinders and checked the bullets, then closed it and checked the sight, pointing it away from the rest of the group. She set it on the table next to the shotgun, feeling satisfied about the weapon situation. Cain let his face show how impressed he was with her.

DG brought Zack his iron knife in its sheath. "I can't wear it with this outfit, so you better hold onto it." Finishing the sandwich, he figured out how to wear the belts without them becoming cumbersome. The knife hung behind his back.

Cain handed the boy a handgun almost as long as his forearm. Zack raised his eyebrows. "Other Side guns are more like yours."

"Wear it for looks. We don't have time for target practice and I don't want you shooting anything without it." Zack sighed at the lack of faith but paid attention as Cain pointed out the safety and holstered the mostly wooden gun.

"Are we ready to go now?" Glitch pulled on the hem of his fastened orange coat, tugging it down smooth over his chest. He didn't want DG near Ichiro any more than the rest of them did. Cain nodded and pushed Zack in front of him. Glitch took DG's arm and they led the way out of the rooms. The opening in the shield let in a wave of pain before DG shut it around their rooms. Raw whimpered.

Hal stopped rolling the ball. The human cub stood up and hugged Raw around the neck. He hugged him before the child let go and went to the abacus.

Chelsea tapped her foot, impatience and worry rolling off her. She sat down in a chair where she could watch the door. "You think being here is bad too, right Mr. Raw?"

The unease hung in the air. It should have dissipated as the others left. "Yes," he said. "Something bad is coming. We must be strong for DG."

She heaved a sigh. "And Mom thought the Resistance was too dangerous for me."


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter Twenty

Zack thought about safety protocol for his children when he gained control of the Foot Clan, _if_ he corrected himself. He doubted the fight would actually end the blood feud between the Hamato and Oroku clans. His kids would probably need bodyguards. And he didn't want to unleash this misery on anyone ever.

They were stuck in a medieval dining hall that hadn't been modernized at all. Or maybe this was how the nobility still ate in the O.Z. The three dinners sat at the table on the dais looking out at the empty room that could seat a hundred. Ichiro and Glitch sandwiched DG between them. That seating didn't strain the conversation any. Cain and Zack stood at attention against the wall behind the dais, which let Cain shoot icy glares at Ichiro's head. Two of Ichiro's guards in purple uniforms stood against the walls facing the ends of the table. None of the kitchen staff tripped over any of them this way.

"Interesting rebuilding plan you're working on." Glitch set the goblet down on the table.

DG stirred her soup. "I haven't seen another castle like this in the whole Zone. Who did you get to design it?"

Ichiro leaned comfortable in his chair. "I suppose I did. Though I had to hire clever engineers to actually make my ideas work."

"Most rebuilding in the O.Z. is because the Sorceress's destruction." Glitch swallowed some soup before continuing. "It surprised me to see the rebuilding here, since she never did fight much with the Northern Guild territories."

"Every Lord Quelala has added to the fortress, except for my father. I'm making up for what he should have done." Ichiro leaned forward again to finish his soup. "It's easier now, not to have to worry about the Sorceress stopping everything."

The servants entered through a small door to Zack's left and exchanged the soup course for the salad course. DG leaned back as the plates switched. "Couldn't the building wait until after you met with my mother?"

"Why in the world would the House of Gale care about what the Lord of Quelala thinks?" Ichiro stabbed his fork into his salad. "I have no position of power, no place on the Queen's Council, no appointments to maintain, no respect in the greater Zone. Once my family had these things. They were lost because my great-great-grandfather had a daughter. These lands and this title were all that were good enough for her. My first duty is to them."

"It's a chance for a new O.Z. with the Sorceress defeated." DG's voice was hesitant.

"And the O.Z. is immediately handed over to the woman who lost it in the first place?"

"It was her reign that was interrupted," Glitch responded.

Ichiro took a few bites of his salad, letting that remark hang in the air until he finished chewing. When he spoke, he looked at DG. "You were brought here and plunged straight into war. Did you make any study of it on the Other Side?"

"Nothing beyond history lessons. Why?"

"My great-grandfather was brought from war and plunged into the peace of the Zone. He never trusted it. Most of his lessons involved what he called the art of war."

Sun Tzu? Allie kept telling Zack he needed to read it. If some snot-nosed punk in an alternate world with two suns knew all about it, maybe it was time to.

DG set down her fork. "Art is about creating something beautiful. War is only destruction. I've seen it up close and personal." Displeasure clipped her voice.

Ichiro shrugged. "My apologies. I was not trying to cast dispersions on the sacrifices to defeat the Sorceress. It was his terminology. In truth, it would be more precise to call it the philosophy of war." The servants entered again with the main course this time, something that smelled like grilled fish to Zack. "One bit of philosophy he liked to quote, 'to the victor go the spoils.' Queen Galinda hardly seems like the victor of the civil war."

"I've heard that quote before, used by people to excuse the wrongs they were doing." DG drank some water, probably to cover how heated she spoke.

"Doesn't make it any less true." Ichiro picked up his fork.

"Doesn't make it relevant either," Glitch said. "It was Queen Galinda's plan that defeated the Sorceress. We were nothing more than tools to achieve that end."

Ichiro chuckled. "Does your mother know you feel like a pawn?"

DG turned a dazzling smile at him, which Zack could only see a corner of. "How I feel about my mother is complicated, and it probably will always be. But I'm grateful for what she did; otherwise, I'd be dead."

"Yes, that would have been a tragic loss. But I hope this gratitude doesn't lead you to blindly agree with her commands. I constantly challenged my father's; it is our family's way to train leaders."

"What is best for the Zone is how I make all my decisions," DG's voice dropped, "then what is best for me. Luckily, those are my mother's priorities as well."

"And Queen Galinda has decided that my going to Central City and declaring my fealty from bended knee is best for the Zone?" Ichiro laid down his utensils.

"It is for the people," Glitch answered. "They have had enough bloodshed. They need to see that the leaders of the Zone are not at odds with each other."

"How is that a brave new Zone, DG?"

"The Zone can't go back to how it was before the Sorceress, but it can heal. If everyone works together to achieve it." There was a barely audible pleading in her voice. Zack recognized it, the please-don't-make-me-do-this-to-you tone, because he had used it himself.

"You would do anything for the people, wouldn't you?" Ichiro leaned closer to her.

DG stiffened but didn't shift from him. "Yes."

"I'm glad to hear the proper attitude for a future queen from you. There are rumors that your Other Side raising made you unsuitable for the throne. Not that I believed them. Do you like your gift?"

Zack glanced without moving his head at Cain. Other than the tic on his jaw, the man's expression hadn't changed.

"Oh, it's nice. Thank you. Haven't seen anything like it in the Zone." DG's hand gripped the seat of her chair.

"My great-grandfather brought the design from his old kingdom. He died when I was ten." He took a deep breath. "Would you like to see his portrait? It's just down the hall in the study. Though it can wait until morning if you are too tired from your journey."

"I'm fine; I'd like to see it tonight."

That answer must have made Ichiro's night the way he jumped out of his chair and headed to his man to Zack's right. Too bad they were too far away for him to understand what they said and Ichiro stood in front of the guy's face, so even if he could read lips, they weren't observable. The guard nodded at the instructions and left the room through the kitchen door. Ichiro returned to the dais with a bounce in his step and Zack resisted the urge to trip him.

He offered his white jacketed arm to DG and she accepted it with the lightest touch and not linking elbows. Ichiro accepted this, leading the way around the table and between the two long tables that occupied the rest of the room. Glitch's hands curled into fists as he followed. Zack fell into step next to him. Cain and Ichiro's guard were behind them.

The double doors out of the dining room led into a cavernous room with multiple doors set on every wall. Ichiro took DG to the human-sized middle door on the west wall.

The study was bigger than Allie's brownstone. A metal spiral staircase wound up to the balconies making up the second and third stories lined with books. A door was set in the west wall and a desk as big as a dining table for ten sat in the northwest corner. A sitting area with settees and overstuffed chairs filled the southeast corner. A folding screen wall was folded flat in the center of the south wall. The door in the north wall was offset to the east from the center. But the flag that hung above the door on the west wall froze Zack in his tracks.

The red rising sun had red rays extending to the edges of the flag, but the World War II replica had been modified. The five-sickle wheel mons was embroidered with golden thread into the red sun. DG had stopped walking to stare at it. "Our crest. My grandfather redesigned it when he became Lord Quelala."

"It's very red," DG recovered. "The portrait?"

Ichiro gestured to the desk. A gilded frame hung on the north wall of the office area. He ushered her closer to the desk. Zack crossed the room, wanting to keep as close to DG as possible.

"My great-grandfather was a proud man," Ichiro said as they stood at an angle to see the portrait. "He often blamed himself for the family's lost of stature, that it would have been preserved if my great-grandmother had married another Ozian noble instead of a Slipper. He wanted much greater things for his descendants." He released DG's arm to face her. "I know why you are here."

DG took a step back. "Of course you do, I told you."

Cain and Glitch moved toward them, but Ichiro's guard blocked them with swipes of a bo. Glitch whirled, dodging his blow, and landed on his feet again, but Cain was knocked back. Before DG could protest, the north door opened and men in the black leather trench coats poured into the room.

Ichiro's hand glowed with a purple light laced with red. He gestured and the screen wall closed, dividing the room in half. The tissue-thin wall did not block out the sounds of the fight. "Your mother was not victor and she can be conquered again. But I will bargain with you, DG, for your hand in marriage. Once I am King with you as my Queen, I will not unleash the Longcoats and the dragon on the people."

"You are so not my type," she snarled.

"Deny me and your companions will be the first to suffer. Then I will take the throne by force. How much war do you think the O.Z. can withstand this time?" She moved away from him, backing into the more open space away from the desk, and away from his glowing hands. She pulled up a yellow glowing shield in front of her, but his hands reached right through it. "I'm the only one in the O.Z. strong enough to tame you."

DG's fist socked his jaw in a perfect right hook. Ichiro staggered back. "Like hell, you're not as strong as tin!"

Zack grabbed her hand and tossed the smoke pellets on the floor between them and Ichiro. He pulled her to the door on the west wall. The door led to a long tunnel of a hall. "Run!"

"Cain and Glitch!"

"Told us to run! You promised him!"

"Damn Tin Man safety protocols!"

"Less swearing, more running!" The hall didn't have any branching offshoots or any rooms connected to it. He hoped it ended with a door before Ichiro sent Longcoats after them. He could see moonlight and torchlight ahead, an open archway to outside. "Come on!"

They pounded through the archway and skidded to a stop. "Oh you've got to be kidding!" DG backpedaled as the squared-off reptilian head as big as a tank lifted off the ground.

A metal gate dropped in the archway, and the two Longcoats in the tunnel laughed. "You beat the Sorceress, Princess. Now tackle a dragon!" They slammed shut a metal door behind the gate.

The dragon was definitely an Asian style and now that it moved its head, Zack saw a silver collar cutting into its white scales just below its jaw. The manacles on the legs keeping it chained to the ground were too tight as well, and blood oozed as it moved. The dragon's eyes stared at them, one was a blue orb and the other was silver.

DG grabbed his arm. "Okay, you have the dragon experience. How do we kill it?"

"We can't." Zack's throat closed tight as his rage made breathing hard.

"I'm pretty sure I can make a rocket launcher or something!" She shook his arm. "Talk to me!"

"That's not a dragon!" Zack turned to her and she released his arm with a step back. "That's Lyle!"

The dragon lifted its head to the sky and roared.


	21. Chapter 21

**Author's Note: Power came back on yesterday, but I only got my computer sorted out about ten minutes ago. The problem is narrowed down to the power supply starting-up or the motherboard. And now that Ike is starting to breathe down our necks, I'm changing to updating everyday I have power because I don't know a) how long I'll have it or b) if I'm evacuating to my sister's in Texas for this one. If you appreciate it, you might could drop a review. They make me feel warm and fuzzy and encourage me to work on my next Tin Man story.**

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Chapter Twenty-One

DG stepped back from Zack's white glowing eyes. The dragon roared and Zack pulled her into a crouch next to the tower wall. She cringed, and Zack continued staring at the dragon. "Two questions."

"Go."

"Why are your eyes glowing?"

"Lingering mutation effect that shows when I'm pissed. Second?"

She pointed at the dragon. "How is that Lyle? You said he's a little boy!"

"Yeah, but he also is magical. He must have shape shifted and got stuck." Zack's eyes stopped glowing as he looked up at the white dragon. "Stay back." He took a cautious step forward. "Lyle? It's Zack, Zoe's friend. Your mother sent me to help you."

The dragon opened its mouth and DG tried not to focus on how the fangs were as long as she was tall. Its throat began to ungulate and purple flames shot out of his mouth. DG cast a shield in front of Zack as he dropped on top of her. The heat bore down on them, but her shield held back the worst of it. The flames stopped. "I don't think he remembers you."

"Or is in too much pain to think." Zack stared up the tower. "There's one of those bricked up windows right above us. Think you can make your shield into a funnel and channel the fire on it?"

"I think so but why?"

"You'll see. Blasting!"

DG morphed the shield as the fire rained down on them, slanting it up to meet the window, pushing the sides so all of the purple fire went above their heads. By the time the flames stopped, she realized rocks were hitting the shield.

Zack lifted her up and she grabbed the bottom of the hole. She scrambled into the empty room the former window had graced, then turned to see if Zack needed help. He leaped, and pulled himself in more easily than she had. "Our rooms are two floors up. Go!"

The dragon roared and a silver orb peered into the hole. DG balked at the door. "We ran already. We have to go rescue Wyatt and Glitch!"

Zack squeezed her arm hard enough to bruise. "Ichiro went through your shield like it was only a light show. Hal, Chelsea, and Raw are in more danger than Cain and Glitch. And Cain can withstand interrogation better than you."

"But I don't want Wyatt interrogated!"

"Ichiro will kill him if he learns Cain is your husband. And you almost gave that away already!" DG felt her blood run cold as she thought about what she had said when she punched Ichiro. Damn the way her temper had to disconnect her mouth and brain. Zack loosened his hold, and he winced at her expression. "They'll be okay. In World War II, the Japanese took lots of POWs. He'll probably figure they're more valuable as hostages. Now come on!"

She didn't argue as he led the way up the first stairwell they found. She hoped that Ichiro had heard the same stories Chelsea had and would think it was just a crush. No one was in the stairwell with them.

They reached the third floor and Zack stopped her inside the doorway into the hall. He peered out. "Two Longcoats guarding the doors," he whispered. He knelt and pulled his tripod daggers out of his boots.

"They have guns," DG whispered back.

"Used to that. Stay here." He crept into the hall. DG bit her bottom lip, and angled herself so she could watch the hall but the Longcoats wouldn't see her.

Zack blurred as he leaped and pivoted. He kicked the first Longcoat in the head. The second one rushed forward and impaled himself on the daggers. Zack left them in his stomach as he reached up and wrenched his head with an impossible degree. The Longcoat fell to the floor. She could hear marching feet echoing down the hall. Zack pulled his daggers free. "DG! More Longcoats!"

She ran to him, but the troop rounded the corner. Zack pulled out his gun and shot the leader. DG dropped the shield over the door and wrenched it open. "Chelsea! Longcoats!"

The girl slung herself out the door while yanking DG inside. Zack ducked as she blasted the hallway with the shotgun. He tossed her the Longcoat's pistol as he rolled into the rooms. Chelsea shot it until it was out of bullets and pulled back into the room. Zack slammed the doors shut. "DG, shield it!"

DG pulled the energy together, feeling dizzy. "I don't know how much more I have left. I used a lot of magic with the dragon." She sat up on her knees. Raw held Hal in his arms when he ran out of the main bedroom with a pack, Cain's duster and hat. Something pierced her chest when she saw them.

"One more spell to get us out of here," Zack said as he sprinted to the window.

Chelsea picked up the other handgun. It sounded like the Longcoats had started ramming the doors to knock them open. "What happened?"

"Lord Quelala showed his true colors." Zack rapped his knuckles against the glass. "Raw, you got all our stuff?" The Viewer nodded, cuddling Hal and tried to soothe his crying.

"He captured Wyatt and Glitch." DG wrapped her arms around herself.

"No!" Someone grabbed her shoulders and shook her like a rag doll. She wrenched her eyes open and stared into Zack's face. "You can't rescue them if you fall apart now!" He shook her again. "We need you now." He forced her to stand. "We have to get out of here."

"How?" Chelsea demanded. "We got Longcoats on the only exit!"

Zack whirled, grabbed an armchair, and shoved it running to the window. The glass shattered and he let the chair drop into the river. "New door."

"Hal can't swim!" Chelsea yelled.

"Wasn't planning on swimming." Zack gripped her shoulders again. "We need you to make a motorboat outside the window and float it down to the water so we can get away."

DG shook her head. "Used too much magic."

"DG Queen. DG can. DG must." Raw placed a warm hand against her upper back.

She couldn't disappoint Raw. She pictured the fishing boat one of the boys in her class had gotten for graduation. It was big enough for four people with a big outboard motor and blue fiberglass hull. She pictured it floating in the air outside the window. Her skin tingled and her knees sagged as the energy left her.

Zack propped her up. "You did good." The door shuddered harder. "Okay, time to split. Raw, get in first."

DG opened her eyes. Raw knocked away the last of the glass shards in the windowsill and climbed into the boat outside the window. Chelsea held Hal and he wrapped his arms around her neck. Raw sat close to the window. "DG next, getting weak."

"Keep it up for just a little bit longer, DG." Zack said. His arms eased her and Raw's arms caught her. He sat her next to him on a built-in bench in the boat.

"Go to Mr. Raw, Hal. Go to Mr. Raw." Chelsea eased the boy into Raw's arms, and then hopped into the boat. She caught the packs that Zack tossed her and stowed them. DG looked out at the walls. No Longcoats looked at them from the battlements, yet. A warm weight settled on her shoulders, smelling of Wyatt Cain. Chelsea tugged the duster around DG.

Raw's arm wrapped around her back. "Be strong. Be strong."

Zack took the seat next to the outboard motor. "Okay, DG, let us down slowly."

DG closed her eyes and pictured the boat going down past the castle walls, settling in the water. She opened her eyes when the boat rocked. Zack started the motor and steered the boat to the center of the river. The Longcoats were on top the battlements now, but their bullets missed them.

She pulled the duster tighter as the boat rounded the bend in the river and entered the forest. She could feel strength and warmth coming from Raw, but it wasn't what she wanted. It didn't ease the sharp pain in her chest. The smell in the duster made it worse, but she couldn't let go of it.

Raw passed Hal to Chelsea and pulled DG into a hug. "DG keeps Cain safe. Cain keeps Glitch safe. Don't hold in grief. Only temporary." Her breath hitched and the tears started flowing. The sob tore out of her throat, and she pressed her face against his furs.


	22. Chapter 22

**Author's Note: Ike is going to Texas (sorry, Texas) so I can go back to my regular posting schedule. Picked up a few new readers that said hello. Hello! And as always review please!**

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Chapter Twenty-two

Longcoats rushed into the room. Glitch spun, and knocked the first two back. A screen wall had sprung across the center of the room, separating him and Cain from DG. Cain grabbed the staff and used it to sling the guard into the wall. Glitch tossed another Longcoat over his shoulder. He dodged a punch from another one, dropping to kick his feet out from under him.

The sound of cocking guns echoed. "Oh please," a familiar voice goaded, "give me a reason."

Cain dropped his fists with a scowl. Glitch turned toward the speaker dropping his own hands. Longcoats lined the wall aiming guns at them, and Zero strode from the door. A Longcoat on the floor staggered to his feet, and took Cain's gun.

Zero chuckled. "The Tin Man and the Headcase, you won't believe how long I have waited for this moment." He sauntered to a weapons display picking up a large dagger with a serrated edge.

The screen wall folded back with a slam. A purple light laced with red surrounded Ichiro's hands. "Get after them!" Two Longcoats ran through the west door.

"I thought you had her," Zero said.

"That boy had a smoke bomb." He seethed joining the greater group. "A smoke bomb!"

Zero shrugged, but didn't look concerned. "Not exactly standard issue for a bodyguard."

"Didn't you pay attention to anything!" Ichiro stalked to Glitch and Cain. "Where in the O.Z. did you find a ninja?"

DG had used that term a lot about Zack, but neither of them had explained it. Playing dumb usually wasn't this easy. "What's a ninja?" Glitch glanced at Cain. Cain shrugged, keeping his eyes on Zero, who toyed with the knife.

Ichiro's scowl deepened. A bruise developed on his left jaw. "Round up the rest of them and throw them in the dungeon. Kill the boy and bring the Princess to me."

"The two you should worry about are right here." Zero pointed the knife at Cain and Glitch. "Especially Cain." No, Zero didn't have issues there, not with how he said that.

Ichiro glared at Zero. "I'm not going to fight your revenge-addled mind about this. You have your orders, Akio. Carry them out."

"A squad is already on its way to collect the Viewer and the other children." Zero ran his thumb over the ridge of the knife. A deep roaring reverberated through the western door, only slightly muted by the stone. "Sounds like the Princess found your pet. Maybe you should make sure it doesn't it eat her."

The purple and red light surrounding Ichiro's hands pulsed. "It won't." He pointed to two Longcoats closest to the northern door. "Go to the other entrance and collect the Princess. And kill the boy. Shoot him, don't let him get close." They ran out the door.

"He isn't even old enough to shave, Ichiro!"

He rolled his hazel eyes at the slightly taller man. "Now is not the time to explain again Other Side stories that you didn't pay attention to the first time. Take them to the dungeon." He waved his hand at Glitch and Cain as he turned away. Four Longcoats swooped up behind them, grabbing an arm each.

Zero breathed heavily, staring at Ichiro's back. The Longcoats yanked on Glitch's arms. "Like hell!" Zero whirled around and the knife slashed down. Glitch cried out as he tried to break free.

Cain's wide opened eyes met Zero's before both sets dropped to the knife with the five-inch blade now coiled between the hilt and the Tin Man's chest.

Glitch felt the synapses misfire this time as he stared at the knife too. "That's not possible, that's not possible, that's not possible." One of his Longcoat escorts hit the back of his head and he shut up.

"How did you do that?" Zero whispered.

"I didn't," Cain answered.

Ichiro jerked Zero away from Cain. He sighed when he saw the knife. "That had been in the family since the days of the Ancients."

Zero grabbed a fistful of the young Lord's jacket. "It's supposed to be in his heart!"

"How the hell did you survive the Sorceress being this stupid? The Princess has protected them with magic."

He jerked Ichiro closer to his snarling face. "Break it then! I want Cain dead!"

The purple and red light pulsed again. Zero flew back, hit the wall, and stayed pinned there by an invisible force. Ichiro sneered, "I am not my father, Akio, feeling sorry for a Slipper that landed on our doorstep."

Another Longcoat ran into the room and skidded to a stop seeing Zero hanging on the wall. He licked his lips before turning to Ichiro. "My Lord, the Princess has escaped via the river."

"Tell Commander Duncan to take his men to the nearest town downriver and wait for her." The Longcoat left.

"She won't fall for that," Zero gasped.

"And this is where I get to prove I'm smarter than you once again." Zero slid to the floor. "The Princess was raised as an American," Ichiro sneered. "Never leave a man behind being one of their more idiotic concepts of honor. She will come back for them. I break her magic to let you have your simple-minded revenge, and she'll know there's no reason to come back. Now take them to the dungeons, before I decide keeping you around is an exercise in sentimentality I don't need."

Zero gestured and Glitch and Cain were forced out of the room. He followed, nearly treading on Cain's heels at the points where the corridor was too narrow to walk abreast. The meandering route they were taken on was to keep them disorientated. But judging by how slick the stone walls were, they had to be right next to the river to the north. As he was searched and tossed into an empty cell, he wondered what good it was to know that.

They shoved Cain into the cell next to Glitch's. Zero tossed Cain's gun and razor into a basket at the guard's station. The Tin Man tucked his thumbs in his belt as he stood just out of arm's reach. "So this is where you grew up, Zero? And I always thought maggots like you bred under rocks."

Zero brushed his blonde hair back as he scowled at Cain. "I'm betting whatever protection spell your Princess put on you won't stop the dragon from turning you into kibble." He suddenly grinned. "Ichiro has quite a future planned out for her too. When the time is right, I'll let him know who really stands in his way." He sauntered away, slamming the massive wooden door of the dungeon shut behind him.

Glitch let out the breath he didn't realize he had been holding and plopped down on the bench bolted to the side cell bars. "At least, DG got away. She must have the others with her."

"Yeah, though I don't know where they would put them." Cain looked further into the dungeon. Their cells were the first two just inside the door. Glitch moved to get a better view.

Every cell looked occupied. The cell next to Cain's had a bright green humanoid curled up on the floor. A satyr stared at the wall rocking in the cell across from them. "The Fae who followed the dragon," Glitch said. "But why haven't they tried to escape?"

"They're on vapors," Cain answered. "Bad enough to get humans addicted to it. No telling what the reaction is for one of the Fae."

Glitch sat again. His fingers curled around one of his dreads. "There's only one thing I don't understand."

Even in the dim light, he could see Cain's eyebrow quirk at him. "Just one thing?"

"I'm ignoring the ninja thing. But if Lord Quelala's reaction is appropriate, no wonder lack of respect annoys Zack." Cain grunted. "When did DG cast a protection spell on us?"

Cain rubbed his wedding band. "I don't think she cast it on you." He lay on his bunk and threw his arm over his eyes.

Something that happened during the ceremony or after? He couldn't tell if the dungeons had listening devices or not; it was best to change the subject. "I'll leave the Zero baiting to you then."


	23. Chapter 23

**Author's Note: Wow, Ike is big. We're feeling it in Baton Rouge and it's playing havoc with the electrical grid that still not fully repaired from Gustav. Arrived at work to no power, but it came on a few hours later. So here's the next chapter.**

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Chapter Twenty-three

DG didn't have any tears left, and she clung to Cain's duster. Glitch, the first person she had met in the O.Z. who had wanted to help her (the lawn gnomes certainly hadn't) and had held her hand even when it wasn't in his best interest. Her mother didn't realize how many times he had talked DG into staying in the O.Z. She was certain that at least three of Cain's visits were thanks to Glitch contacting him and telling him to come back because she about to bolt.

And Cain, her chest ached. Cold, angry Cain, who helped her when it ran counter to what he wanted, and eventually thawed the longer he stayed with her. She didn't think anything could hurt her worse than when Zero came down the stairs of the Northern Palace and told the Sorceress he had killed Cain and she had to hide the wail in her heart. Her hand rubbed over the stone on her wedding band. She loved him, he loved her, and she let go again.

The suitors who were closer in age to Az were not going after her eligible sister. And Az loved Glitch, and he was probably the only one in the Zone who loved her back. God, she couldn't screw up their future happiness. She never let anyone take the fall for her mistakes, not since the cave. She wasn't going to let Cain and Glitch be the first. But the how to accomplish that was eluding her.

Chelsea broke the silence. "What are we going to do?"

Zack sighed. "We could hole up in the first town downstream and figure that out."

"They'll think of that."

"I know, but what else can we do? We'll run out of fuel if we just keep on the river."

Raw touched her shoulder. "DG trust Raw?"

"Of course, Raw." Her voice was hoarse. "You don't even need to ask that."

He nodded with a small smile. "Stop the boat there." He pointed to a grassy portion of the bank flanked by two trees almost looking like a gate. Zack pulled the boat alongside the spot and killed the motor as Raw jumped out with a coil of rope. He tied the boat and disappeared into the shadows.

Zack moored the other end of the boat and they sat in silence. The wait seemed longer than it probably was, and they all looked up when they heard the sounds of two people approaching.

Raw led another Viewer into the moonlight close by the river. He stooped over a staff. Raw waved his hand to DG. She thrust her arms into the sleeves of the duster and climbed out of the boat. "DG, this is Yowl, the elder of the village here."

Yowl tried to bow, but DG held out her hands to stop him. "Please don't. It's not necessary under the circumstances." He grasped her hand.

"I doubted Raw. Trust is too valuable for us to give after the dark days. But shelter from the Longcoats we can offer you, my Queen. No more than that." Yowl frowned. "Nothing but a village of the ancient and children. We could not fight for even you."

DG's eyes opened wide. She wanted to fight back, and the Viewer must have felt that. She squeezed his hand. "After everything that has been done to your people, I would never ask for that. Sheltering us is more than enough."

"The cub," Raw reminded.

DG nodded. "There are two with us. Could you get them safely to Lord Gayelette's fortress, if something happens to us?"

Yowl nodded. "We can arrange for that. There are still some humans trustworthy in this area. Now come."

Zack and Raw helped Chelsea holding the sleeping Hal out of the boat. DG wore Cain's hat and carried two packs despite Raw and Zack protesting because of her exhaustion. But she didn't feel exhausted with something to do. Yowl led them into the trees and a hilly area. It took a moment to process, especially in the shaded moonlight, but the hills were actually the Viewers' homes dug into the ground.

"We've ended up in the Shire," Zack whispered.

Yowl led them to one of the doors and ushered them inside. A smokeless fire burned in the small fireplace. The floor was dug out so Raw could stand under the roof. Zack took over Cain's check everything out first role, and DG felt her throat close tight. He came out of the second door. "That's the bedroom. Chelsea, go ahead and get Hal comfortable." He pointed to the first door. "That's the half bath."

Chelsea whipped her head between the bedroom door and DG. "It's not our place. The Princess should have the bedroom."

DG sat next to the fireplace. "I'm not pulling rank on a baby. Go get some sleep, now." Chelsea went carrying Hal, looking unhappy about it. Raw trailed after her.

Zack sat on one of the steps leading down from the front door. "Do you need anything to eat?"

"I need Wyatt." The amount of raw pain in her voice surprised her. She clutched the edges of the duster. She brought her knees up to her chest and dropped her head. Between the too-big duster and fedora on her head, no one could see her pain and her guilt.

She heard someone sit on the other side of the hearth. "DG did what Cain said to. Not the same as the cave," Raw pitched his voice to be soothing, but she didn't want to be soothed.

"I left them! In the hands of stalker creepy, for what?" Her head shot up with the challenge.

The firelight made Raw's face even more sympathetic. "The Queen must be safe."

"For what?" DG repeated. "How many people have suffered because I have to be safe?" Her mother hid. She supposed if this had happened to Galinda, she wouldn't have stopped running until she reached Finaqua. "And now you want to add Wyatt and Glitch to the list?"

"Not want. But it's what we'll do. For DG. For the Queen."

"You would die so I could run away?" She knew Cain had a crazy take-a-bullet-for-her philosophy that she did her best to ignore, but Raw and Glitch shared it? "Do you honestly expect me to sit pretty on the throne with a crown on my head if you guys died so I could?" She shook her head to block out the image. "I'm not worth that. And no position is worth that."

"DG is worth it. The Zone needs you."

"And I need the three of you! Alive and well and at my side. Otherwise, I'll give Az a run for the title of crazy princess." She clutched her legs to stop her hands from shaking. Cain's smell surrounded her but it was a poor substitute for his arms. Was he alive to regret that they were good before supper?

"Cain and Glitch still alive," Raw answered.

"But for how long? Ichiro's first ultimatum will be marry him or he'll kill them."

"Can't argue with that," Zack said.

"And if I tell him no," she paused to let the nausea pass, "he'll start an invasion with the Longcoats and the dragon."

"Next logical step," Zack conceded.

"And I'll be responsible for the destruction of the O.Z. again." She dropped her face against her knees again.

"Glitch already asked you this," Zack spoke slowly, "but what do you think a Queen does for her people?"

"Runs away so she'll be around to lead the next parade, I guess. Death and destruction of the Outer Zone is my particular talent." She wouldn't cry again. She couldn't cry again.

A hand gripped her shoulder, too small to be Raw's. She looked to see Zack kneeling beside her. "I don't know what example your mother is setting, but I'll venture a guess that it's the exact opposite of how you'd approach life."

DG nodded. That was a nice way to sum up their complicated relationship.

"I've had the opportunity to see a few queens in action. It's not really about the pomp and circumstance or leading parades or being a status symbol for nationalism like on Earth. A queen fights for her people when they can't. DG, fighting you can do. You have got passion, fire, and grit. You are a force of nature!"

"A force of nature?" Her voice was so timid, so disbelieving.

"Why do you think Cain loves you?"

_Cain's arm had circled around her shoulders. "You're the strongest damn force in the whole Zone."_ She could hear the pride and love in his voice. She blinked and the memory receded. "I don't feel like Xena."

"The outfit would probably give Cain a heart attack. Just be yourself." He let go of her shoulder.

"What do we do now?" Raw asked.

DG rubbed her face. "What do you recommend?" Zack looked surprised. "Without Cain or Glitch, you're the closest thing to a military advisor I got."

Zack sat cross-legged on the floor. "I remember a trick the Turtles said they used to get into a castle in ancient Japan. But our assets list is shabby. You're emotionally shot and not a trained fighter, and being in there hurts Raw."

Raw drew his shoulders back. "I would suffer for Cain and Glitch."

"It's not right to subject you to it if it can be prevented."

"You were probably picking up on the dragon. He was bleeding. And how are we going to break that spell?"

Zack shrugged. "I don't know; you're the magic user."

"The pathetically trained magic user who is completely drained without doing much of anything. How far are we from Lord Gayelette's?"

Raw purred as he shut his eyes. "Four days by how fast we go. Army move slower."

DG shook her head. "No way, we don't have that long to wait. Jeb's group is probably closer."

"Do you know how to find him?" Zack asked.

"No, that would be Wyatt who can figure that out. I'm too used to prairies. The trees mess me up."

Zack stared into the fire. "We're going to need to rest before we make a decision." Before she protested that she was too wired to sleep, he continued. "Why don't you clean up, and then I'll share what magic theory I know? It might help you understand your powers."

She looked down, not wanting to give up the duster, and realized she was still in the pink pajamas. "Good idea. I wouldn't mind some of the tea I know Glitch packed." She took her pack into the half-bath.

It only had a toilet, sink, and mirror, but it wasn't as tiny as the handicap stall at Hilltop Café. She had always changed her clothes in there just fine. She found her jeans and a dark green blouse.

The keychain fob was still in the pocket of the jeans. She stared at it with a sense she was forgetting something important. Why were she and Az stronger together rather than apart?

She stuffed the yin-yang symbol back into her pocket, and splashed water onto her face. She blinked at her reflection in the mirror, letting the water drip off her face. It felt like tears but colder.

A caress touched her bare back, fingers too small and smooth to be Wyatt's. She felt a wave of power wash over her and smelled death—spilt blood and rotting flesh. "It's only a waking dream, DG." His arms circled around her waist, and Ichiro propped his chin on her right shoulder. "You cleverly eluded my men, but you can't escape me."

"You have some serious boundary issues, Ichiro! Get the hell out of my head!"

His arms squeezed tighter and she gagged with the stronger smell. "Stop defying me! I'm the only one in the O.Z. worthy of your hand. Together we will build an empire, the empire of the rising suns!"

DG slammed her body back to knock him off her, but he didn't let go. "News flash, the Japanese lost World War II. I don't want to drop a nuclear bomb on your head, but I will if that's what it takes!"

"And kill your friends?" He drew his finger around her navel.

"You're going to kill them any way. My way would be quick." She swallowed the revulsion threatening to spew from her mouth.

"I'm not an unreasonable man. I want the throne and I want a son who has our powers combined. Give me these things and you can keep your toys. It might be amusing to see you and Akio vie over the Tin Man."

At the mention of Zero's name, something icy shot through DG like cold rolling water. The rapids they had jumped into to get away from the Papay were under her skin and rolling down her left arm. She balled up her left fist. The icy energy shot out through her ring as her fist connected with Ichiro's face. "Just ask Jimmy Gulch how much I like being toyed with!"

Darkness swept away the bathroom until she opened her eyes. Her face was still wet, but she panted like she had just run for her life. But she didn't feel drained like she did when she used her light without Az around. She dried her face and yanked on the blouse. After pulling on the duster, she snatched up the pink pajamas and her pack and tried not to stomp out of the bathroom. "I think our timetable has just accelerated."

Zack poured water into the campfire kettle. "Why?"

"Ichiro just paid me a telepathic visit and gave me the first ultimatum. I managed to punch him out of my head, but," she sat and twisted the pink silk in her hands. "But he threatened to turn Wyatt over to Zero."

He hung the kettle from a hook embedded in the fireplace. "What's the history there?"

She shoved the pink pants into the embers with the poker. "Sorry about the smell. Zero locked Wyatt in the iron suit after torturing his family, and filmed the whole thing so he had to watch it. He didn't kill Wyatt's first wife until about six months before the Eclipse when he found out she and Jeb were still working for the resistance against the Sorceress." The silk turned into a powdery ash after the fire flared around it.

"Cain thought his family dead for years," Raw added. "DG made him better."

"Yeah, well," she shrugged it off. That was private. "Jeb captured Zero, after he had captured Wyatt, Glitch, and Raw while I was off getting reacquainted with my father. He locked Zero in an iron suit to keep Jeb from killing him out of revenge. We got him out of it for prison about a month later." She repeated the fire treatment on the jacket. "He wants Wyatt dead is accurate, but woefully inadequate for the passion Zero feels about it."

Zack sighed as he put a tea bag into a metal cup and poured the hot water over it. "Allie has something she likes to say when hearing about stuff like that. 'I see why he's not on your Christmas card list.'"

DG snorted. "Your sister has a way of cutting to the essentials, doesn't she?"

"Yeah, but I think she picked that one up from Mike." He passed the cup to her. "Are you sure Ichiro's out of your head?"

"I think so." She sipped the tea, letting the warmth seeping into her.

"DG shielded herself," Raw said from his bedroll. "Won't be able to use that trick again."

"That's reassuring." She looked at Zack. "What do you know?"

"Lissa said once that magic works the same everywhere, it's just easier on some worlds than others. Earth is one of the hard ones. So here's what I've picked up on three different worlds," he said with a grimace. "Energy is energy, whether created by magic or scientific means. Magic is will made manifest. Matter created from chi by the user just making it so."

"Chi?"

"It's an Eastern term for life force. It has three levels, personal chi, what your body runs off of." Zack placed a hand on his chest. "Environmental chi, the energy of the planet," his hand moved to touch the floor. "And universal chi, the divine," he spread his hands above his head to span the unseen sky. "As a magic user, you can channel your personal chi and make what you want to happen. Cass said incantations, even something as simple as a spoken word, are just a technique to make your brain focus on what you want to happen. The bigger the effect, the more chi you use. You can deplete your personal levels and then no more magic until after you eat and rest."

"I've felt that happen to me before," DG drained the last of the tea and took the kettle off the fire.

"Cass pulled energy from environmental chi, so she could keep working magic during a battle. I never met anyone who was able to channel universal chi to work magic. From what some Wiccan friends told me once, many cultures declared insane people 'touched by the gods.' That's a big don't try it for me."

"How did she pull energy from the environment?" She rested her chin on her knees.

"Now you're asking about mechanics, which I don't know anything about. She said she could sense the chi moving around the planet in lay lines, but how to do that?" He shrugged for an answer. "She also used Apollo's lyre as a conduit to channel enough energy to send out an S.O.S. that a version of Lyle answered."

"That's a lot to cover. A version of Lyle?"

Zack sighed. "I was stuck on a world that was almost mine with just the tiniest details off, and homesickness was killing me. Lyle answered the S.O.S., but he was all grown up, said he owed me, and got me home."

"Apollo's lyre? As in the Greek god of the sun?"

"Oh, yeah, on that alternate New York, it turned out that a lot of the gods in mythology were actually members of the Third Race, the Fae. Since Cass had been trained as a priestess for Apollo, the lyre attached to her and gave her a boost of magical energy."

"That's what a conduit does?"

"A magical artifact to ease magic casting or forge a connection to environmental chi, yeap."

She rubbed her arms through the sleeves of the duster. The Emerald of the Eclipse could be a conduit, but she wanted to test that theory before committing to it. "Okay, what else?"

"It's easier not to break all the laws of physics. Working with them prevents a backlash of energy, thanks to one of Newton's laws."

"Wait, I know that one." She stared at the ceiling for a minute. "Every action has an opposite but equal reaction?"

"Yeah. And from what I've seen, magic is neutral. If something evil happens, it's because of what the user wanted not something bad about the magic itself."

DG sighed, "I want to believe that. But nobody else trusts me, why should I?"

"That's not true. We trust you. Cain married you; do you think suspicious cop that he is would if he didn't trust you?" Zack uncrossed his legs and sat on his knees. "Allie never trusted her rage, her ability to be criminally sneaky. She was so busy not trusting herself that she never saw that she only used them to help those she loves. DG, your magic is part of you. If you fall to the dark side of the Force, it's because you went evil not because your magic warped you. And a little rage isn't necessarily a bad thing."

"That's not what Yoda said. Anger leads to the Dark Side."

"Actually it's 'Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.' And it can, if you hold it in, letting it eat away at who you are, lashing out to try to make it go away. Turned inward, it is the unconquerable enemy. But being angry over something evil done to someone else? That's the path of justice. And sometimes, the only justice is death."

"Damn, that's cold."

"It's also the last resort. Always leave open the chance for redemption. But sometimes, you have to let karma take over." Zack stared into the fire. "Adsaluta was right, you do fear your power and that's crippling your ability to use it fully." He looked into her eyes. "I can't pep talk you into accepting yourself. All I can ask is that you please do it quickly, because we're going to need you to fight at full strength if you want to save Cain and Glitch and stop this before it becomes a full war. Get some sleep." He found his blankets and curled up in them.

DG stared at the flames, her mind whirling into blankness. She didn't even have a coherent thought to follow. She huffed and gave up, finding her bedroll lay out close to the fire. _Stay strong, Wyatt._ She kissed her wedding band. _I'm coming._


	24. Chapter 24

**Author's Notes: No flooding from Ike, yeah! New readers, hi! Author lets characters show their evil in this chapter, enjoy!**

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Chapter Twenty-four

Cain stretched out on the cell's bunk, letting his body conserve energy. This was easier than taking a chance on a damn nightmare attacking out of no where. He stared up at the stone ceiling. DG had escaped, but knowing her, she was off planning something crazy. His lips twitched. Raw and Zack won't be able to stop her.

The door to the dungeon slammed open. He twisted his head to watch the Longcoat stop in front of his cell. "On your feet, Lord Quelala wants to see you." Cain grimaced but complied. "Turn around with your hands on your head." He glanced at Glitch before turning his head to look at the back wall. The Longcoat took no chances as he pulled Cain's hands behind his back and closed the manacles around his wrists.

"Watch your step, Tin Man," Glitch said as Cain was jerked past his cell.

"You too, Zipperhead." The Longcoat wanted to pull his shoulder out of his socket. Cain quickened his step. The Longcoat took the least direct path from the dungeon to wherever they were headed. He saw a rising moon in an unblocked window and realized they headed up the east side of the tower.

They didn't stop on the floor of the study, but continued up one more level. The Longcoat knocked on a closed door. "The prisoner, my Lord."

"Enter." So it wasn't a ploy of Zero's to get him out of the dungeon. The Longcoat shoved Cain inside a personal gymnasium. Each of the Palaces had one, as well as the Tin Men Academy, but this one lacked muscle building machines. There was a punching bag hung in the back corner, but the rest of the floor was clear with a mat on the floor stretching from wall to wall. Swords, spears, and staffs were hung on the stone walls. Ichiro had a sword in his hand as moved in a series of complicated steps swinging it in the center of the room.

The Longcoat moved a chair away from the wall by the door. He shoved Cain into the seat and looped rope around its back and Cain's chest. Cain gritted his teeth as the rope was pulled tight. Ichiro finished his sword dance. "Wait outside until we're done."

Cain heard the door shut behind him. Ichiro had another bruise on his face, right under his right eye. "Ran into a doorknob?" he asked.

Ichiro chuckled. "What your Princess lacks in magical finess, she makes up for in instinct. She didn't even let slip where she is hiding away at."

"She's your Princess too," Cain growled.

"Oh no, she is my Queen. Or she will be as soon as she stops resisting the idea." Cain went stony. This traitor dared to think he could touch DG; that he deserved to touch her. "Which is where you come in." He continued to watch as the young man returned the sword to its place on the wall. "What is a nuclear bomb?"

"I'd guess it blows stuff up, but if Princess DG said it, I only understand half of what she says."

Ichiro considered him. "Jimmy Gulch?"

The things DG lets slip when she was angry. "Nobody on staff with that name. Must be someone she knew on the Other Side."

Ichiro smirked. "With the stories circulating about you two, I would have thought you'd be closer."

"People gossip."

"She put you under a protection spell, but says she'd kill you quickly to save the O.Z." He leaned over Cain. "So which is the truth?"

Cain stared into his hazel eyes. "She's a woman. They're probably both true."

Ichiro chuckled again. "I can see why Akio hates you so much. You have a knack for being truthful and infuriating at the same time." Cain didn't say anything to that. He liked his method of obscuring. "I wonder just how far the spell goes." Ichiro raised his right hand covered with purple light. But this close up, the red in the purple looked more like jagged welts, ready to start oozing blood. Ichiro clenched his fist.

Cain felt like he was on fire. His head shot back to escape the heat. He could feel his skin blistering, charring, and pulling away from his bones. He screamed with the agony of it. As soon as he yelled, something smooth, slippery, and icy skitted over his skin forming armor between him and the fire. He still felt the heat, but dulled to sitting too close to a bonfire. The heat stopped and the icy sensation faded. Cain opened his eyes. He was untouched, except being soaked with sweat and panting.

Ichiro smirked at him. "A slight delay, enough to cause some discomfort, hmm? Still, the point of torture is to prolong the pain." He pulled a knife from its sheath, and ghosted the point down the side of Cain's face. "She said I wasn't as strong as tin before that ninja escaped with her. What did she mean by that?"

Did this slimy bastard think he was a DG translator? What the hell kinds of stories were floating around the Zone about them? The Tin Man is the only one who understands the Slipper Princess? Cain didn't move back from the blade. "Maybe because I show a little restraint. Don't go around murdering innocents to gain magic and take over a kingdom. Maybe that's how you impress a princess."

Ichiro's expression didn't change as he took the blade away from Cain's skin. His fist backhanded Cain across the face. The inside of his cheek cut against his teeth. DG's protection spell didn't work fast enough to stop that. "You don't know your place, Tin Man," Ichiro snarled.

"But I'm not getting punched repeatedly by a princess." Cain smirked at Ichiro's glower that confirmed his guess. DG nailed his jaw back in the study.

Ichiro's knuckles backhanded Cain's left side. "Where is she?"

"Don't know. Just told her to run. She's good at running." The fist hit straight this time, missing his nose but splitting his lip. "Spent a whole week chasing her from one end of the Zone to the other. Good luck catching up." The fist hit his left eye. That would probably leave a shiner.

Ichiro stepped back with a growl. "I don't need to go looking. She'll come back here for you and the Headcase. It's only a matter of encouraging her." His gaze swept around the room before he smiled. "Akio can't kill you, and he was so looking forward to it. Perhaps one of Great-Grandfather's techniques will make him feel better."

Yeah, that sounded about as fun as being locked up in a room full of angry Munchkins. Ichiro went to the door. The Longcoat didn't take long to untie Cain from the chair and led him down the stairs. They reached the dungeon level, but the stones remained dry.

The room he was shoved into was empty except for a short table that slanted one end to just above the floor with manacles at the corners. No wheel to pull the chains, so it wasn't a rack. A bare light bulb illuminated the room. An exposed pipe ending in a faucet was attached to the stone wall almost dead-center from the end of the table that slanted to the floor.

Two more Longcoats came into the room. They grabbed his arms when the manacles were unlocked. Cain's first pal started unbuttoning his vest. "I don't get frisky on the first date," he growled. A blow to his stomach ended the banter part of the torture session.

As soon as Cain was naked from the waist up, the Longcoats forced him to the table. They swung his feet to the higher end, locking the manacles around his ankles. His arms stretched above his head and the manacles closed tight on his wrists. His body lay taut against the wood.

The Longcoats moved away from the table as the door to the room opened against. Ichiro entered first, and stepped aside to lean against the wall. Zero had taken off his leather coat and carried a watering can and had a small towel draped over his other arm. He stood over Cain with an arrogant smile.

Zero dropped the towel on his bare chest. "You're about to be in a unique position in the Outer Zone, Cain. You experienced the worst torture the Sorceress devised." Zero moved and Cain craned his neck and back to watch him head to the faucet. The sound of water gushing into the metal water can filled the silence. The faucet squeaked as he turned it off. Cain dropped his head and back against the wood. He heard the watering can settle against the stone floor and Zero leaned over him. "Now you're about to experience the worst torture from the Other Side. Be sure to tell us which one is worse." He pulled the towel over Cain's face.

The white terrycloth obscured the room, but he could still hear. The watering can scraped against the stone floor. Water fell on the towel, soaking into the fibers. It ran into his nose. Cain blew hard to expel it and opened his mouth to breathe. Fingers forced the wet terrycloth into his mouth while the water still rained on his head. Water filled his nose and sinuses and his mouth. He tried to blow it out again and move his face from the water stream, but it followed as his head twisted as much as it could between his arms.

His lungs didn't have enough air to expel the water, and he couldn't breathe more air past the wet towel. He gagged and pushed it with his tongue, but too much was in his mouth. Water poured into his throat and he was breathing it into his lungs. His body convulsed, trying to pull away from the water and back into the air.

His body thrashed, but the manacles held him to the wood. He couldn't kick and free himself from the suffocation. He gagged and more water poured further into his throat.

Why did he feel DG's hands clasping his? _Get away. DG, don't let them get you._

Power washed over his entire body. His head felt like it broke through the surface of the water. The towel shot away and he coughed the water free from his body. A loud crack echoed and the table fell to pieces under him with his arms and legs free from the shackles.

Before Cain could use his sudden freedom to his advantage, Zero kicked him in the side. He sprawled out in the shattered wood of the table and Zero kicked him again.

"Enough, Akio." The Longcoats pulled Cain so he knelt in front of Ichiro. He struggled to stand, but they kept him pinned down. The panic from nearly drowning mixed with being pinned for a beating. He clenched his jaw to keep the sounds of rage inside him. Ichiro watched, fascinated by his expressions. "The Princess felt that. She sent more power through your connection." Cain only inhaled through his gritted teeth. Ichiro looked at Zero. "Have the blacksmith make a metal table. Then he will have another session."

"And then what?" Zero growled.

Ichiro grinned, but there was no mirth in his eyes. "The sessions will stop when she comes and agrees to my terms. Take him back to his cell. And bring back one of those pathetic creatures. It's time to renew the ritual." One of the Longcoats grabbed his shirt and vest as they dragged Cain to his feet.

They were closer to the dungeons than he thought, because the Longcoats threw him into his cell before he realized they were in the dungeons. His hands and knees slammed against the stone floor, but he held himself up. Blood pounded in his head. He panted, and then remembered to breathe slower, calming his rapid heartbeat, and making sure his lungs filled. He coughed a couple of times before noticing the Longcoats were gone, and they had taken the bright green Fae with them. And Glitch called his name.

He snatched his shirt and vest off the floor and hauled himself onto the bunk. On the other side of the bars, Glitch got full view of his developing bruises. "Cripes, what did they do to you?"

Cain waited until his vision stopped swimming before pulling on his shirt. His wrists were bruised too. "Lord Quelala wanted to chat. He thought I could translate for DG." His ribs ached where Zero had kicked him.

Glitch snorted. "I keep planning to write a dictionary of Slipper-isms. So he battered your face when you couldn't?"

He pulled on his vest and waited for the twinges to subside before buttoning it. "He talked with DG through magic and she punched him again. He got a little punch happy himself when I teased him about it."

"What is DG going to do with you?"

He swallowed against the pain in his sore throat. "He tested the protection spell, made me feel like I was on fire. Then he let Zero have the real torture session, something from the Other Side. They tried to drown me."

"I'm pretty sure we came up with dunking sessions without help from any Slippers."

Cain shook his head. "Not dunking, Zipperhead. That you can resist, fight the panic. They tied me to a tilted table, head lower than my feet, and Zero poured water onto a towel on my face." His voiced dropped. "I was drowning and DG did something. It broke the table, set me free." He closed his eyes.

"That's a pretty effective feat of magic for her."

"Ichiro said she felt what they did to me. He ordered a new table and another round once it's ready." He leaned against the bars. "And we'll keep doing them until DG agrees to his terms."

"DG won't do that."

"No, she'll just try to rescue us and get captured." Glitch didn't respond. What could he say that they both wouldn't know was a lie? "Get some sleep. At least one of us won't feel like hell." Cain lay down and put his arms behind his head. That way he didn't feel like he was back in that room. He closed his eyes. _DG, run. Run to the Army and let them handle these bastards. Please, Sweetheart, if you love me, stay away. I'll get back to you, I promise. _He sighed, opening his eyes with a sinking realization that even if DG heard it, she wasn't likely to listen.


	25. Chapter 25

**Author's Note: Nothing crazy is actually happening this week, wow! Question: Rewatching _Tin Man_ for the next fanfic I'm working on, and got to the time loop before they free Cain. And it struck me that the two guys holding Adora don't look right with their restraining technique. Does it strike anyone else that way? **

**And I thought for sure that the last chapter would have gotten to more people and I would get reviews worried about what was going to happen to Cain and Glitch or at least complaints that how could I do that to poor Cain. So thanks, ASolidSecond, for commenting and the rest of you lazy lot are burnt-to-a-crisp cookies. I still love you for reading though. :)**

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Chapter Twenty-five

DG was in the lake at Finaqua. She didn't know why, because according to Az princesses didn't swim in full view of the public like that. But hell, this was a dream and nobody here to bitch at her for doing something unseemly for a princess.

She sprang up in the water breaking the calm surface and dived, going deeper than she thought possible. The sunlight filtered through the water, coloring everything under it with blue hue. A school of fish swam and included her in their pack before swimming in a different direction. The water rolled around her, making her hair shift, even when she wasn't moving. Zack was right; the calm lake was teeming underneath. Everything was alive, and actively enjoying their life.

Like she did. She bobbed in the water. During her life in Kansas, she had only stopped to sleep. Even the calm that came with drawing and painting was active; her hands would move the tools over the paper and canvas. Her first week back in the O.Z. had been non-stop running to save everyone. She had been holding onto those memories for five long months of being told to sit and look pretty and be calm because she was a princess and that's what princesses did. But she didn't passively sit through her life, she ran, she laughed, and maybe if the music was right, she could dance. Az was the one to sit pretty.

Holy crap. Az and DG, yin and yang, light and dark, passive and active; no freaking wonder they were stronger together, they were the embodiment of the duality stuff Zack had talked about. Only here in the O.Z., the colors had gotten reversed. No wonder she had so much trouble using her light; she was no way in hell passive with that calm strength Az and her mother had.

The water twisted around her like a tornado. She almost felt like it was laughing at her. _About time_, surrounded her.

It dropped away, and she could see Cain sinking deeper into the lake. She torpedoed through the water to reach him. This wasn't part of her dream. He struggled to reach the surface and he could swim as well as she could. His body thrashed but he couldn't move his arms and legs. She cupped his bruised face, staring into the panicked and feral expression. "No." She grabbed his hands and kicked her way to the surface.

The water surged up with them, shooting them both above the surface of the lake in a geyser. Wyatt was gone.

DG sat up with a gasp and stared at her hands. The deep blue energy shining with its own light receded. Nothing was out of place in the hut. The magical surge must have followed her Tin Man.

"DG?" Raw rumbled softly as he propped himself up on his elbows.

"I'm fine. Go back to sleep." The Viewer lay back down. She sank back on her bedroll. _Okay, powers. I have to figure out how to use you and how to save Wyatt, Glitch, the dragon kid, and my realm tomorrow. So do me a favor and let me rest unless they start trying to kill Wyatt again. We gotta deal?_ She shut her eyes.

When she woke up again, sunlight streamed inside through some camouflaged skylights. Zack chuckled. "Man, when you finally stop, you stop."

"What time is it?"

"Still before noon. Raw took Chelsea and Hal out to stretch their legs for a bit. And the village sent some food." He passed her plate of biscuits and fruit. "We've ate already."

The biscuit crumpled in her mouth. "Whatever we're going to do, we have to do tonight. They were doing something horrible to Wyatt last night. I don't know how much of it was real, but I ended up sending him a surge of energy." She moved on to an apple, trying not to squirm under Zack's gaze. "Um, night is best for mad ninja skills, right?"

"Yeah, but we still have that little problem of being outnumbered." Zack ran his hand through his hair. "I could get them out, if I leave Lyle. But as soon as they're discovered missing, Ichiro will go to step two."

"Starting a war by aiming the dragon and Longcoats on the populace." DG had lost her appetite, but if she had learned nothing else between running to the dinner, to classes, and back to the farm, she knew to eat when she had the opportunity. She took another bite of the apple. "So we need to engage in an assault, like Rambo."

"Rambo knew what he was doing."

"My being James Bond worked out so well last night."

"You didn't do too bad, considering. But if we're looking for movie influences, I think we should aim toward _Willow_ and _Lord of the Rings_." Zack smirked, "And maybe just a touch of the _Princess Bride_."

"Have fun storming the castle?" DG laughed when he nodded. "I think I made a breakthrough with my powers last night, but I still need to train them."

"But we won't have time for you to recharge, if you want this to happen tonight."

"Oh yeah, I wanted to test that too." She pounced on her pack, pulling the box free from her clothes. The glow inside the Emerald of the Eclipse pulsed when she pulled the pendent over her head. "I wore it when I sent Az to Finaqua, and I didn't get wiped out at all."

"You've had a conduit the whole time?" Zack crossed his arms over his chest.

Now DG did squirm. "Az insisted I take it with me. But it's like a priceless artifact, I didn't want it to fall into the wrong hands or break it!"

He pulled his booksack out of the pile and found a metal cylinder about as long as a paper towel roll in it. "The Zone makes sure the Queen has what she needs." DG stared at the Emerald sitting on her chest and her jaw dropped. "If you're through eating, we better get started."

She finished the apple as she followed him outside. He stopped to talk to Yowl, who sat on a stump that had been carved into a seat. Raw looked up from where he was watching Hal and a couple of Viewer children of various ages, and his mouth dropped open. Okay, it wasn't often she surprised Raw. She grinned and waved before following Zack further into the forest.

He stopped in a small clearing. "Nothing too flashy. Ichiro might have troops searching."

"Magic is will made manifest, right."

"Good, you did listen last night." He leaned against a tree to her side, out of the way.

Just for that. The icy power roiled under her skin like it was rapids in a river. A deep blue aura surrounded her hands before Zack's trident shaped daggers landed in them. "Ha!" They floated up from her palms, spinning slowly, then faster, and then she slowed them down again. All she could manage with the doll was one speed. She brought them down to her hands and wrapped her fingers around their hilts.

Zack looked impressed, but he hadn't moved from his tree. "Think you can do that with a Longcoat?"

"Spin him through the air? What good would that do?"

"Plenty of ouchies if you slam him against a wall. Now can I have my sais back? I don't think Cain will be happy if you accidentally impale yourself."

She walked them back to him. He had a point about making Longcoats fly through the air. She paced in a circle and made a shield surround her. It glittered like ice in the sunlight. She expanded it. It hardly took any energy for her to manipulate it. She shrank it until it shimmered over her skin.

She kept it there while thinking about what else she could do. If they were using movie examples…. She aimed her hands and bolts of blue lightening shot out of her fingertips, scorching the earth. She pushed the air flat to make sure nothing sparked. She felt the Emerald pulse and her energy level went up. She faced Zack grinning. "Beat that _Star Wars_ quote!"

He laughed. "I can't. But I did a Gandalf. Course, all my witnesses are on another world."

DG waved it off. "If we want to get technical, I've done a Gandalf too. But I was seven and then I was mind-wiped, so Raw had to show me what happened."

"You're not missing much. Pain, going dark, hearing Cass screaming at me, some more pain, and waking up."

Maybe it wasn't all personality for why he saw her like his sister. She absorbed the shield spell and sat in front of him. "The witch possessed Az, and she did the Vader choke hold on me. My mother brought me back to life, and then set everything up to defeat the witch."

Zack swallowed hard. "Agmaraa tried to kill me with magic. Cassandra stopped the spell, but it left me so weak she had to give me some of her chi to bring me back from the edge. Umbriel helped too. It worked, and a couple of months later I was able to go home." He twirled one of the sais in his right hand without looking at her or it. "It wasn't just chi, though how DNA transferred with magic I have no idea. Last year, I was given something to mutate me and I started turning into a gargoyle. It was reversed obviously, but I got a few side effects. I'm stronger, have excellent night vision in pitch blackness, and my eyes glow like a gargoyle's when I get pissed." He set the sai next to him. "Less cool than Spider-Man, but beats getting left with purple skin, wings, or a tail."

"Sometimes, I think my mother regrets saving me," DG admitted. "I disappoint her that I didn't turn out like she expected."

"I can't help with parent issues. Mine died when I was about four-months-old, and Allie was all I had left. Billy wasn't raised with us. April adopted us when I was eleven, but she acts more like another big sister only with control over allowance." He sighed. "Master Splinter is the closest thing to a father I have, but he's still not my father."

"My parents are complete strangers to me. The last time I saw the robots I consider Mom and Dad, the witch had reprogrammed them and created this illusion of Kansas, so I would tell them what she wanted to know. We found their broken pieces after we defeated her."

"Damn. No wonder you cling to your friends, you're as much an orphan as I am." He shook his head. "We are quite the pair."

She grinned. "Think we got what it takes to save the realm?"

"I'd be honored to fight by your side. Are you finished with the magic testing?"

"Think so. And I'm not even the slightest bit tired."

"Then back to basics." Zack handed her the metal cylinder. "You could say it's a wedding present." He grinned at her confused expression.

"Aren't you supposed to get something for both me and Wyatt?"

He shrugged as he showed her the twist in the center of it. The cylinder expanded from both ends to make a six-foot long pole. Then he showed her the thumbnail thin button to unlock it so she could retract the ends. "I figure Cain can't worry so much about you using a stick if it's made out of titanium, so that's his half."

DG expanded it again. "Where did you get this?"

"Donnie made it for me when I wanted to cosplay Gambit for a con. I sucked at the Ragin' Cajun X-Man, and he decided he liked a traditional wooden bo, so it needs a home." He pulled her up to her feet. "Let me show you how to use it."

She knew her stance, now it was a matter of keeping hold on the staff. Zack forced her to repeat the sweeps over and over again, to an opponent's feet, to his head, to his torso. Once he was sure she had them down, he squared her off against the biggest tree ringing the clearing. "You have to be able to take what you lash out." He explained as he stepped back out of the way.

Hitting an oak tree as hard as she could was a mistake. She dropped the staff and shook her hands to get rid of the pain. "Force meets unmovable object. I should have paid more attention in physics."

"I doubt Longcoats are as hard as a tree."

With that encouragement, she did, but not at full strength. Repeatedly, swinging from the left and then the right, and giving the tree a few pokes to the gut with the end.

"Why Cain make fun of DG with stick?" Raw asked Zack, sitting next to him when she whirled.

Zack shrugged. "He's a gun man, probably under appreciates the value of a good stick." He turned his attention back to DG. "How do you feel?"

"Thirsty." She caught the canteen that Raw tossed to her. She shrank the staff and stuffed it in a pocket. It poked up to the side of her stomach, but it would have to do until she figured out something better. The water was cool on her throat.

"DG hid Emerald from us," Raw said.

"I didn't want anybody to know I had it. Can you imagine what Ichiro could do with it?" She stood over them. "What now?"

"We need to eat and get our strategy planned." Zack stood up. "It's been a few hours. I think you and the staff are as good as you can get."

"I didn't realize it had been that long." She looked up at the suns. They had crossed the zenith point of the sky and were closer to the western horizon.

"Chelsea has food ready." Raw led the way back to the village. DG didn't feel hungry. Was Ichiro even feeding Wyatt and Glitch? That thought kept her quiet as they headed back to their hut in the Viewer Village.

She accepted the bowl of stew from Chelsea with a smile. Hal was laying down for a nap. Zack had his notebook out and wrote furiously. He looked up at DG. "You saw how Ichiro blocked off the dragon with the way he designed the walls."

"It wasn't that hard. I'm an artist; I'm used to seeing how things work spatially."

"Think you can draw up layouts of the fortress?" She pulled her sketchpad out of her pack. She alternated the spoon and pencil in her right hand and tuned out the rest of them as she remembered Quelala fortress.

"I can't believe you lot are crazy enough to go back into the place again." Chelsea sat on the floor with her own stew bowl.

"You and Hal aren't," Zack told her. "If we don't come back to get you, Yowl is going to make sure someone takes you and him to," he faltered.

"To the Army at Lord Gayelette's fortress led by General Olson," Raw said.

"Yeah, it'll be safe to tell them who Hal is and they'll get you to DG's mother."

Chelsea smacked her bowl against the floor. "Lord Quelala has hundreds of Longcoats."

"Jeb's estimate was two hundred and fifty were unaccounted for out of the Sorceress's troops. Plus the thirty that escaped from the prison and any recruiting, we're probably looking at three hundred."

"So you're going to take on a hundred Longcoats each! He will kill you as soon as you waltz in! Or that dragon will eat you!"

Zack turned to DG. "Are you done with the drawings yet?"

"I think so." She passed her pad to Zack. He smiled at the drawings, complete with her estimates of where rooms were in the Tower. "So what is the plan?"

"I saw a chute for a garderobe on the river side of the fortress. Ichiro's moved to modern plumbing, but I bet it's still an open passageway. Once we're inside, we find the dungeons and free Glitch and Cain and anybody else that happens to be there. Then you guys go let in the backup, while I try to reason Lyle back to human form."

"What backup? Yowl said he doesn't have any fighters." DG crossed her arms.

"Oh, wasn't thinking Viewers anyway. Do you think you can put a skin-suit shield on Raw so he won't hurt while we're in there?"

So he had been watching her work magic that closely. "Yeah, but I think magically creating soldiers is beyond my abilities."

"You have soldiers."

"Four days away."

Zack sighed. "Do you know how to do the teleporting thing Az did?"

"I'm tired of answering your questions when you are ignoring mine. But yes, I think I can. It's all a matter of concentrating on who you want to see or where you want to be."

"Good, you think you can tell Jeb you lost his father and need his help to get him back?"

DG's jaw dropped. "That is brilliant! Jeb will probably be pissed at me, but he'll help."

He nodded as he went to his booksack. "So we just have a few more preparations to make, then we can finalize plans with Jeb, and get started. But we have to shake it. We need to get inside the fortress between sunset and the first moon rising, and we don't know how long it'll take for Jeb to get into position."

"Why don't I just teleport us inside?"

"Thought about it, but you might end up getting us locked into the same cell with Cain. Or Ichiro would sense your magic use and then we lose the element of surprise." He pulled out a wide, black nylon belt covered with pouches everywhere except for a sword frog and two sheaths in the front for his sais. He pulled two pieces of u-shaped metal with laces across the top. He turned them over and she saw four staggered metal spikes on the other side. "Ashiko, you wear these on the balls of your feet." Next he pulled out a metal band that had four spikes pointing in one direction. The spikes poked through a black band that ended in a small belt. "Shuko, you wear on the palms of your hands." He demonstrated by slipping it on. It fit right above his thumb and the small belt wrapped around his arm. "You need to make these for you and Raw to wear while we scale the castle wall."

"Okay," she turned to Raw and started measuring his feet. "What else?"

"I can't teach you two to be ninjas in a few hours. So how much Harry Potter did you see before getting here?"

DG's head shot up, and then her brain caught up. It was so great having somebody to toss pop culture back to her. "Raw, find our cloaks."


	26. Chapter 26

**Author's Note: This chapter was all Jeb's fault. He ended up being happy for his dad and DG in this story, and no good deed goes unpunished.**

**Also I will apologize for the lack of shout-outs and make up for them here. (I think my last postings here were before they got the nifty reply back feature plus in a fandom where I had a forum to connect with. We didn't do shout-outs.) So thanks Purplehino and ASolidSecond for specifically reading the last chapter. Thank you Hidden Relevance and Kitty-0-kat for being my most prolific reviewers, Kamali Shen for starting reviewing at Chapter One, and thank you luckywynner86, Lania Lynn, Sculder the Goblin Queen, Queen Isabella, and Donna 8 for reading and showing it.**

* * *

Chapter Twenty-six

Jeb Cain rolled over on his cot. They had spent most of the night and early morning fighting Longcoats. No Zero among them and none of them wanted to say where they were headed to or from. Let the unspeaking bastards sweat while he got some sleep. They could start chatting again in a few hours. He pulled the sheet up to his neck.

The thunderclap boomed inside his tent.

Jeb grabbed his gun from under the pillow and rolled to his feet. DG squawked and dropped to the ground. "Don't shoot us!"

Zack looked down at her. "That takes practice. How often have you had a gun pulled on you?"

Jeb uncocked the gun. "Alright, no shooting. Why are you two in my tent?"

"Lord Quelala is the one controlling the Longcoats and the dragon." DG sat on the end of his cot. The Emerald of the Eclipse pendent swung around her neck. "And we had complications."

Nothing good ever followed the word _complications_. And DG had come with Zack, not his father. "What happened?"

"Wyatt and Glitch were captured. The rest of us got away." Her blue eyes glimmered with tears before she looked at the ground.

"He wants DG to marry him and get the throne," Zack added. "If she doesn't, they're dead. If she still doesn't, he going to start a war. He already destroyed Lord Gillikin's fortress."

Jeb looked at them. Zack was dressed in slightly loose black shirt and pants, with a belt holding his funny-looking daggers and a sword. DG was also dressed in a pair of black pants with pockets sewed down the legs and a black, long-sleeved blouse. He blinked his eyes, hoping their attire would change. It didn't. He felt a heavy weight drop into his stomach, just like when he was six and his playmate Arthur tried to convince him to do something his parents had forbidden. "Princess, this better be a request to get your Royal personage to the Second Division of the Royal Army, if not an escort all the way to Central City."

She looked up at him again, but the tears were gone. "They hurt Wyatt because of me. They killed almost everyone at Gillikin Fortress, including women and children. They're killing the Fae to keep control over the dragon, which isn't even a dragon. They threatened my realm and my husband and like hell are they going to get away with it!" She surged to her feet. "I don't want to make this an order, Captain. It's your father they're torturing!"

"And he's going to kill you and then me, if you waltz in there!"

"The bulk of Ichiro's forces are in the fortress. It's too good an opportunity to wipe them out," Zack pointed out. "The plan is sound, if we have your men in on it."

"You actually have a plan?" He shouldn't have blurted that, but he couldn't help it. Not after all the stories. "I was never given the impression that you plan anything."

DG planted her hands on her hips. "Zack, Raw, and I are sneaking into the fortress and freeing the prisoners." Zack passed a sketchpad to Jeb. The drawings of the fortress were detailed enough for attack plans. "Then we're opening the gates for your men. And then we fight while Zack deals with the dragon."

"What did you do to get that detail?" Jeb jerked his eyes up from the drawings.

The younger man's face was pained. "He isn't really a dragon. He's my friend, the one I was sent here to find. Can you get your men to Quelala Fortress between sunset and before moon rise?"

Jeb's shoulders slumped. "Yeah, we'll be there. But DG, if Dad goes crazy on me for agreeing to this, I'm telling him you did order me!"

"That's fine. I've got better defusing techniques for when the Tin Man goes ape shit." She smirked, "I'm sure he'll forget all about being angry when I…."

"Stop!" Jeb held out his hands for mercy. "By Ozma's magic belt, I don't want to know. I'm not completely ignorant, but that's my father you're talking about!" DG's face turned brick red, and Zack snickered.

"Sorry, Jeb," she muttered. "We'll see you at the fortress." Zack grabbed her shoulder and she clapped her hands together. They vanished.

Jeb shook his head as he pulled himself together to leave his tent. So much for the shut-eye.


	27. Chapter 27

**Author's Note: Now the battle begins! Thanks all for waiting patiently to get here. And special shout-outs to lady of the realm for her first ever review, Hidden Relevance for taking the time when RL is being evil, Purplehino I am mostly serious about making you a magic check beta, and ASolidSecond for sympathizing with poor Jeb. Language hits the mature level in this chapter. Just in case that bothers you.**

* * *

Chapter Twenty-seven

Zack hadn't worried about getting into the fortress. He worried more about running into Longcoats or Ichiro before they found the rest of their gang. DG had cloaked the boat with a silence spell and an illusion. He and Raw secured the boat to the stone wall so it wouldn't drift. At least, the garderobe chute wasn't still in use. The Turtles hadn't been that lucky in Seventeenth-century Japan, and April still brought it up occasionally.

His claws found purchase in the mortar between the blocks. The rope tied around his waist connecting him to DG and Raw pulled tight as he got higher then slacked as DG followed him. He looked down and saw the rope disappearing in thin air. Illusion magic still worked. He resumed the climb up into the hole at the bottom of a square corbel jutting out from the wall.

The chute was wide enough for Raw to fit through, Zack's only concern about this part of the venture. Luckily, the top of the chute was open, must have had a wooden seat once. He slipped the shuko off and pulled himself over the edge. Three people could barely fit in the privy room. He slipped the ashiko off his boots and tucked them into his belt before clasping DG's forearm.

Her eyes widened on her pale face, and she took shallow breaths. "Shit, they couldn't build a bigger bathroom?" She hugged herself and jumped when the shuko spikes grazed her arms.

Raw poked his head out of the low square rising from the floor. "Focus, DG. Be out soon."

She nodded, pulling off the climbing gear, breathing deeper. "Stop being green. Stop being green." She shifted out of Raw's way, and closed her hands around the Emerald to try to block its light.

_Kuso_, Zack frowned. DG hadn't said anything about being claustrophobic. He looped the rope and gave it to Raw, who wore it across his torso. The door into the fortress had been bricked up ages ago, but you could still make out the outline. "DG, we need you to make the door." She nodded laying her hands against the bricks. Blue energy shimmered over the rectangle, shifting the brick into wooden planks with a doorknob. "Okay, cloaks on."

They moved into the larger corridor holding hands. The invisibility spell on the cloaks worked on them too, and DG couldn't figure out how to adjust the glamor so it wouldn't. She had gotten the invisibility to turn off when you dropped the hood back. Zack spied the stairwell down the hall.

It ended on the lowest level of the fortress. They had to be under the water level of the river. "To the left," Raw said. Zack moved down the corridor and it ended in the thickest wooden doors he had ever seen. He eased it open and felt DG and Raw brush past him down the steps into the bigger room lined with iron bars.

"Glitch!" DG dropped her hood back at the first cell.

The taller man sprang to his feet. "Doll, you can't. You shouldn't." He pulled on his hair. "Cain is going to kill you!"

Raw dropped his hood back. "Glad to see Glitch too."

She scanned the cells. "Where is he?"

Zack moved to the guard station as he dropped his hood. They had tossed Cain's shirt and vest on it, and his gun and belt, and a razor rested in a basket. He got a tight feeling in his gut as he picked up the items.

Glitch's expression was miserable, panicked, and afraid all at the same time. DG's magic unlocked his cell door, and he squeezed her shoulders as he came out. "They took him," he swallowed hard.

"To torture him again," DG finished. She glared at the rest of the cells. The doors swung open as she looked, but the prisoners didn't come out. "What's wrong with them?"

"They're on vapors," Glitch answered.

Zack sighed, "That's one way to make sure creatures with magic don't escape, drug them."

"This ends now!" DG held out her hands, and dark blue, glowing energy rippled from her. The Emerald pulsed with it, tinting the dungeons green. "Wake up. Wake up. Wake up." The fairy tale creatures timidly crept out of their cells. DG let her power fade. "Just in case you have any doubts over who is freeing you, I am Dorothy Gale of the House of Gale, Queen of the Outer Zone, and current upholder of Ozma's pact. I know you thought a dragon returned to your people, but it is only a trapped wizard, and the human traitor to my crown has been killing your people to maintain control over him." They muttered and some looked ashamed. "We have an allegiance, but you have suffered, I won't order you to do more. But I would ask that you help us before the traitor makes war on the whole Zone."

The muttering stopped as each of the creatures dropped to a knee or bowed. The bowing satyr at the front of the group looked at DG. "What would you have us do, your Majesty?"

"Soldiers of the Royal Army are outside the main gate. I need you to open the gates and let them in. And don't hesitate to kill any Longcoats." DG did not look very regal in her Other Side clothes, but no one would mistake her tone of voice for anything but.

"As you wish, your Majesty."

Glitch's mouth was agape as he stared at the departing Fae. "The Emerald of the Eclipse? Deeg, honey, did you just accept…?"

"We'll deal with the ramifications on human politics later, Glitch." She gripped his arm as the blood drained from her face. "Oh God, what are they doing to Wyatt?" She ran from the dungeons. Glitch started after her. Zack clutched Cain's stuff to his chest and ran, leaving Raw to bring up the rear.

Zack didn't know what kind of ESP DG was using, but she didn't falter in her run nor hesitate at intersections. Even Glitch was having trouble keeping up with his longer legs. She stopped in front of a door, caressing it with her hand while she waited for them to catch up.

"On three," she grinned manically. "One."

"Three!" Glitch yelled. The Emerald's glow pulsed as blue energy from DG turned the door into toothpicks along with some of the wall.

Glitch jumped in the DG's left, engaging the three Longcoat guards. Zack moved to her right, throwing two shurikins. They hit the man wearing the black T-shirt in his shoulder and chest. He jerked the watering can away from the man strapped to the metal water-boarding table.

Ichiro stood next to watering can guy and raised his purple glowing hands. DG waved her hand. Another wave of blue energy ripped the wet cloth from Cain's face and threw Ichiro and his torture buddy against the wall.

"You fucking bastards!" DG snarled as the sound of snapping metal echoed in the room. "You just pissed off the wrong Cain." She stalked closer to the pair. Blue energy crackled off of her. "And Zero, you should really stop messing with us!"

The man in the black T-shirt grabbed Ichiro's arm. Ichiro clapped his purple-tinged hands together and they vanished.

DG stomped her foot with a growl and whirled. Raw supported Cain as the man kneeling on the floor bent over and coughed. The Viewer looked as she dropped to her knees beside her husband and hugged him. "Lungs clear. Cain just felt like drowning."

"Water boarding?" She looked at Zack, tears and anger fighting for dominance on her face. "Fucking CIA versus Al Qaeda water boarding?"

He shrugged as he handed Cain's things to her. "It's older than that. The Catholic church loved it during the Spanish Inquisition."

Cain's breathing was returning to normal. "DG, what the hell?"

"You're really bad at recognizing a rescue, hun." She snaked her hand behind his neck and kissed him. Her blue energy washed over both of them.

He pulled back first. "I told you to run."

"And I did. You didn't say anything about coming back."

Cain closed his icy blue eyes with a sigh.

"We got company coming," Glitch announced from the doorway.

Zack drew his katana before he peered down the hallway at the group of Longcoats running towards them. "They're mine."

"Wait!" Glitch cried.

Zack ran down the hall. The first two didn't have time to aim their guns before he sliced and leaped. He landed between the other four and swung the katana out as he ducked to the floor. They all went down. He wiped the blade off as he stood.

"So that's why Ichiro kept saying shoot you." Glitch closed his mouth with a snap.

Zack raised his eyebrows. "Great-grandpa told him about ninjas?"

DG reached the doorway the same time Zack did. "Ichiro's doing something with the dragon." She winced, gagged, and grabbed hold of the wall. Before anyone could reach her, she vanished in a flash of purple and red energy.

"DG!" Cain yelled as Raw and Glitch gasped.

"Kuso! Lyle's this way, come on!" Zack ran back to the stairwell they had found earlier.

"Lyle? Who's Lyle?" Glitch wailed as the three men ran after Zack.

"Dragon is Zack's friend," Raw explained.

"How?" Cain growled.

"I'll tell you as soon as I know!" Zack skidded into the stairwell and pounded up the circular stone passageway with Cain on his heels.


	28. Chapter 28

**Author's Notes: Language in this chapter too. Plus my favorite DG line in the whole thing. Review if you need the reference explained (not that I expect many for that). Purplehino got the first review; you must keep on alerts like I do. Lady of the realm made it a two for one deal; I hope this chapter meets expectations. Queen Isabella, ASolidSecond, and Hidden Relevance all chimed in, won't you other lurkers do so too?**

* * *

Chapter Twenty-eight

DG landed on the stone floor on her hands and knees and retched. Of all the ways to travel through the O.Z., she decided that being teleported by someone using blood magic was her new least favorite. Someone grabbed her arms and jerked her to her feet. Ichiro was in front of her, ready to explode.

She twisted her head, yeap, Zero had her again. They were on the south battlements of the dragon's enclosure. "Let me go, you're bleeding on me. I'll probably catch something!" He growled and squeezed her upper arms tighter.

Ichiro's hand struck, hitting her right cheekbone and knocking her head back. "You married that Gai-jin!"

"If by that you are referring to Wyatt Cain, 'fraid so, asshole."

The purple and red mix of magic he had pulsed like a strobe light. DG fought to keep her nausea down as the smell of death assaulted her. The dragon chained down in the courtyard below roared. "My family is older than your House. I have a Slipper in my lineage. I am the only one in the Outer Zone who is your equal, your perfect match, and you chose a common Tin Man of no importance!"

DG slid up a skin-suit shield for herself, making sure it didn't glow. "I do not have to discuss the reasons with you. Even if you weren't a traitor to the Crown."

He spluttered again. His black hair whipped around his face. She heard the gun battle going on the other side of the battlements. Jeb was inside; she grinned. Ichiro grabbed her jaw. "You will answer me, Gale witch!"

She shook her head out of his purple and red tinged grip. "Oh grow up! My answer won't make you happy, won't placate your ego, and you won't understand it. So let it go already." For some reason, this made Zero chuckle behind her. Maybe blood loss was getting to him.

Ichiro hit across her left cheek. "Why the Tin Man?"

"And why not you?" She stared into his hazel eyes. "Because he wants DG, not the crown." Ichiro blinked. "See I told you so, but you didn't listen. Now it's time to end the spell you have over the dragon and surrender."

"Why would we surrender when we have you?" Zero asked almost directly into her right ear. Her hand twitched to reach her staff in the thigh pocket of her cargo pants.

"Because it will stop me from being more pissed off," she answered. "There's no iron suit around this time, Zero."

Zero squeezed her arms tighter. "If Wyatt Cain survives the dragon, I'm going to hara-kiri him myself."

He looked away from her when he promised that. She followed his gaze. Zack stood in the hole they had made in the Tower earlier. Cain and the others were right behind him.

Ichiro grinned maniacally as he pivoted with a raised fist. The purple and red aura around his hand pulsed. The dragon reared his head with his throat undulating.

"No!" DG screamed, raising her hand to block the stream of dragon's fire. Zero jerked her and the blue energy flew into the night sky.

Zack had a sword shield out, looking puny against the stream of purple fire. But magical energy from it stretched into a huge triangle made of three smaller ones colored red, green, and gold. It covered the entire hole. The dragon's fire ran out and Zack yelled at him. The dragon drew back and roared.

"You will do as I say!" Ichiro snarled as the purple and red aura brightened. The collar and manacles on the dragon turned red. The white scales looked pink as he roared again.

"Stop it!" DG screamed as she tried to break out of Zero's hold. He kept moving his feet, damn him. "You're hurting him!" A purple light from the dragon flared, but the red from the chains smothered it. She felt the dragon's heartbeat increase with the pain. "You're killing him!"

"You can't kill a dragon," Ichiro mocked her. "And your magic won't withstand a dragon's power!"

The dragon's tail thrashed and came down like a wrecking ball on the fortress wall. It crumpled behind them, sending tremors through the battlements. The stonework held under their feet.

DG's anger spiked. Fear for her loved ones—who looked like they were jumping out of the hole now—fear for the dragon's life—who thrashed even harder now—and fear for her own hide all gave her a single purpose. "You won't listen? Then I'm going Samuel L. Jackson on your asses." Lightening from her left hand hit Ichiro in the back. The lightening from her right hit Zero's leg. And both screamed like girls. "Feel the Force, motherfuckers!"

She twisted out of Zero's grasp and kicked him in the nuts. Then she ran. The battlements dead-ended against the Tower, but there had to be stairs off if it somewhere. Or she could take the rope swing Zack and Cain just did to reach the battlements.

The wave of blood magic, smelling of rot, crashed into her back. She hit the stones and skidded across them.


	29. Chapter 29

**Author's Note: Purplehino, ASolidSecond, Queen Isabella, Kamali Shen, and Hidden Relevance all loved the last chapter. What did the rest of you thirty visitors think?**

**And Queen Isabella gets a cookie for bringing up Zero and his connections with the Other Side and Ichiro, something I had been waiting for since chapter twenty-two.**

**FYI, because I don't think you have to read my TMNT fanfics to understand this story, but I based them off the live-action movies version of the universe with elements from the 80s cartoon and the comics rewritten to fit in. So cookies to anyone who can identify where the Turtle specific gadget Zack uses in this chapter comes from. (Yes, I do realize I'm carbon dating myself with the fact that I watched the original TMNT cartoon religiously.)  
**

**And my apologies to Raw. I didn't mean to give Glitch all the good lines, but he doesn't shut up.**

* * *

Chapter Twenty-nine

The boy led them to a room on the second level of the Tower. Zack headed straight to the hole blown out of its western wall, and Cain didn't let him get too far ahead. The dragon looked like the picture Zack had, barely fitting curled into the space between the walls and the Tower. Chains as thick as trees attached the manacles on its limbs to the ground.

"I take back everything I said about the countryside being delusional," Glitch muttered over Cain's shoulder.

Cain grunted; too busy scanning for DG to answer. Zero had her in his grip on the south battlements above them and the dragon, and Ichiro yelled in her face. Cain growled as he looked for a path from their position to DG's.

The dragon's head rose and a silver eyeball blinked at them. Cain pulled out his gun, but Zack shoved his arm down without turning his head. "Lyle, this isn't who you are. You have to remember."

The dragon snorted.

"We have to get to DG." Cain looked past the dragon and saw Ichiro hit her. His anger flared, but she yelled back at Ichiro.

Zack ignored him and reached into one of the many pouches on his belt without taking his eyes off the dragon. "I know you're in there, Lyle. Remember Hyrule. Remember home." The object in his hand got bigger as he slid it up his left arm until it became an old-fashioned shield. "Come on, Lyle. You're stronger than this!"

Red flashed in the silver eye and the dragon roared as it threw his head back. "I don't think it's working!" Glitch yelled.

The dragon's throat acted like a snake that swallowed something bigger than its body. Zack crouched behind his shield. "Get back!" Raw yanked Glitch out of the opening while Cain crouched behind Zack, grabbing the boy's upper arm. The dragon spat out purple flames, but a glow extended from Zack's shield blocked it. Zack twisted his head to look at Cain. "And you got nerve to complain about DG and directions."

The dragon's fire finished before Cain responded and Zack was on his feet again. The dragon's expression looked confused and pained. "Remember the Triforce! Remember Hyrule! Break this, Lyle! Kuso, this asshole isn't even Agmaraa!" The dragon roared again.

"Maybe you shouldn't have mentioned that last one," Glitch suggested.

The collar and the manacles glowed red, and the dragon roared as blood oozed from under the metal. A purple light tried to shine from the dragon, but the red smothered it. The dragon roared and brought its tail down on the fortress wall behind DG.

Cain's heart leaped to his mouth, but her portion of the wall stayed upright. Ichiro pointed his fist at the dragon. "You can't reason with it! We have to get to DG!"

Zack nodded and pulled a green box off his belt. He pressed a button on what looked like a turtle's shell and metal prongs shot out of the top and rope came out of the bottom. He passed it to Cain. "We're going to have to swing up there."

Cain wrapped the block and rope around an outcrop on the third floor of the Tower, and the metal hooks dug into the stone. Zack jumped onto his back as Cain pushed off.

They didn't have enough velocity to reach the battlements. Cain pulled his legs up so his feet impacted with the wall. Zack grabbed the rope above his head, pulled himself up, and swung onto the battlements. He grabbed Cain's forearm and pulled. Not expecting that to work, Cain opened his eyes wide when it did. The boy was stronger than he looked.

He rolled to his feet on top of the battlements and saw DG running toward them, only to be knocked forward onto her face. "DG!" Ichiro stalked toward her like a Papay smelling fresh meat. Cain fired.

The bullet missed Ichiro, but he saw Zero stagger and fall behind the young Lord. DG picked herself up, and Cain sprinted toward her. "DG!" He fired again.

DG sat on her backside and lashed out with a wave of blue magic. Ichiro staggered back, but stayed on his feet. She stood, a six-foot pole appeared in her hands, and she swung it at Ichiro. He scrambled back from her metal stick as Cain reached her.

The dragon raised its head level with them. Cain grabbed his wife around the waist and pulled her down. DG yelped and a bubble of blue energy surrounded them. "Are you alright?"

"Not a scratch on me, Tin Man." She grinned and he squeezed her in his arms. "What about you?"

The dragon roared, and she shrank against him. "I'd be a lot better if the dragon wasn't in a staring contest with us," he admitted.

Its tail hit the wall to Cain's right. He looked back in horror. Zack had been behind him. The boy landed on their solid portion of the wall and sank into a crouch, watching the dragon. DG saw him. "What the hell is he doing?"

Zack held the shield on his arm out so the dragon could see the triangle-shaped crest. "You have to remember. You are Lyle, a Gensiarian born in Hyrule. Your mother is Lissa. Your father is Josh from Earth." The dragon roared to the moons. "Your aunt and uncle are Queen Zelda and Prince Link. Your cousin Lin is the Guardian of the Power of Gold. Zoe is the Captain of the Knights, and her daughter Zorden wants you to take her to other worlds. You and Kevin team up to play tricks on Kelamane, and she gets you back by making you dance with her. You have to remember!" Purple and red energy cascaded over the dragon's scales. It reared back again, and the roar sounded full of anguish.

Purple and red energy laced together in a ball lobbed over their heads. Zack raised the shield and it absorbed the energy. The boy glared at Ichiro, who stalked around their blue shield. Cain raised his gun, but DG put her hand on his arm. "He's shielded himself from bullets and my magic."

Ichiro's right hand glowed brighter and a curved sword without a hand guard appeared in it. Zack drew a similar one from the scabbard hanging from his belt. Ichiro sneered as he twirled his sword in a circle. "Are you a ninja or are you a knight in shining armor?"

"I'm both." The boy who joked with DG had vanished, leaving behind the warrior Raw had alluded to. "I am Zack Baker of the Hamato Clan, trained in the ways of the Foot." He smirked at the flash of recognition on Ichiro's face. "I am also knight errant of the Kingdom of Hyrule, sent on a mission to find the missing member of their royal house. And I won't kill you if you surrender to your monarch."

"I surrender to no one!" Ichiro charged at Zack with the sword raised. Zack dodged the blow.

Cain watched the two sword masters trade blows. He scanned the area for any other threats. Zero hadn't moved. "Stay here."

"Where are you going?" DG's eyes grew wide.

"To make sure Zero is out of it." He hugged her arms before he released her. He stayed low to not be a target for bullets from the front courtyard battle. His bullet must have ricocheted off Ichiro's shield and pierced Zero through the throat. He hadn't aimed to kill Zero, but he couldn't say he was sorry about how it turned out. He crawled back to DG. "Zero's dead."

She nodded and squeezed his hand as she turned back to the fight between Zack and Ichiro. Ichiro lobbed another energy blast, much bigger than the first. Zack caught it with the shield but it knocked him off balance. His sword clattered across the stones.

Ichiro moved in with an overhand killing stroke and a crazed laugh. Zack saved himself with the shield, and swept Ichiro off his feet. He leapt back up, shield ready. The purple glow with red gashes covered Ichiro's body. The dragon roared in greater pain. "You have to do better than that, Shadow Assassin. Go on, go for your sword."

"I'm good."

He looked incredulous. "You honestly think you can defeat me with only a shield?"

"Scared to find out?" The shield covered most of Zack's body. "Scared to take on the Planes-walker?" Zack's eyes glowed white above the shield. "You take mind control over a dragon, but you won't face me?"

Ichiro snarled and swiped the sword down at Zack's head. Zack's shield arm opened, but he caught Ichiro's sword with one of his trident daggers. His right hand stabbed his iron knife into Ichiro's heart. Zack let the knife go and took the sword away from Ichiro. The purple and red energy blasted out of Ichiro into the sky, as his body slammed onto the stone floor. The dragon's roar turned into a human scream.

Zack pulled his knife out. DG let her shield down and Cain helped her to her feet. The boy drove Ichiro's sword into a crack in the battlements wall before turning to scoop up the rest of his weapons, and ran down the nearby stairs into the dragon's courtyard.

DG looked at Ichiro's lifeless body. "It's over."

Cain heard the fight ongoing behind them, but growing cooler. "Not yet, but soon. Come on," he took her hand and led her down the stairs Zack had found. It would be safer for her, until he found a more secure location.

Zack skidded to a stop next to a smaller, nude boy laying face down in the enormous courtyard. He yanked off his dark brown cloak and wrapped it around the pale body. DG and Cain moved as quickly as they could without running to the pair. "Come on, Lyle. Your mom will kill me. And that'll be the end of all things when my sister finds out and hunts her down. Come on."

Bruises covered Lyle's white skin, which looked like marble under the moonlight. His eyes fluttered open under his black bangs. "Zauk?" he croaked. His blue and silver eyes winced. Cain crouched down next to Lyle who looked about ten to twelve annuals old. His bruised throat had cuts like the edges of the collar had dug into his skin.

"Yeah, it's me, the one all you Hyrulians run to when you get into trouble." Lyle's laugh turned into a groan. "Are you going to be okay?"

"I think so, just feels like I'd rather cross over." His hand came out from under the cloak to clutch Zack's. "And you wondered why I come anywhere to help you?" Lyle's voice dropped to a whisper. "This is twice you've saved me. Hyrule has life debts too."

Zack sighed, "Okay, fine, life debt. But why a dragon?"

"Oh, Dad got these books about shape changers for my birthday, and after Zoe and Orden's stories about Dragonsworld," Lyle chuckled. "I didn't realize I activated a portal until I got caught by the guys in leather."

Lyle shook, and Cain scooped him up as he stood. "Come on, let's find Glitch and Raw, and set up an infirmary for the wounded. Zack, take point." DG walked beside Cain while Lyle's eyes crossed trying to focus on him. "Don't strain yourself. You've been through a lot."

"Sorry for all the trouble, but he would have turned regardless." Lyle curled up against his chest and closed his eyes. His breathing was steady, but he didn't weigh hardly anything. Had Ichiro even bothered to feed him as the dragon? Cain felt his face hardened.

DG put her hand on his arm curving under Lyle. She smiled at his questioning look. "I think we won, Tin Man. No need to look so grim."

"Still a lot to do, Princess."

She crinkled her nose. "I don't think technically you should call me that any more."

Now he smirked. "You want me to go back to 'kiddo'?"

"Oh, hell no!" He laughed and she slapped his arm.


	30. Chapter 30

**Author's Notes: Purplehino, Hidden Relevance, and Queen Isabella are all ready to see the showdown with the Queen Mother. Sorry, that's not in this chapter. :) Luckywynner86 is just happy with everything. ASolidSecond and Sculder the Goblin Queen both developed telepathy and figured out what was coming up next. Enjoy! And if you do enjoy it, let me know. I don't write much smut.  
**

* * *

Chapter Thirty

"This is the part I hate," DG confided to the soldier whose arm she bandaged. He was the last one in her minor wounds line.

"What's that, your Highness? Dealing with blood and guts?" The young man grinned.

"No, the fighting is supposed to be over with but my husband doesn't think it's safe, so he's stalking around looking for more Longcoats. Surgeries will be done and the dead all buried, and he'll still be looking." The soldier laughed as she finished.

She stretched, looking over the dormitory area they had turned into an infirmary. The ones finished with surgery or needed to stay off their feet filled the beds that used to belong to Ichiro's men. Raw moved from soldier to soldier, checking the healers' work. Zack sat next to Lyle's bed in the furthest corner from the door. She headed to them.

Zack looked up wearily but smiled. "Stream of the wounded ended?"

"I think so. The worse cases are still in surgery." She waved her hand at the adjacent room functioning as a surgery theater for the two healers in Jeb's unit. "I haven't seen Jeb yet to know how bad it was. The Fae took their people home." She looked at Lyle's bandaged arms. "Raw could help with those cuts and bruises."

"He offered, but I don't want to chance a reaction with Lyle's magic. If he doesn't wake up in a few hours, I'll wake him for some grub." Zack ran his hand through his hair. "As it is, you may be stuck with us for a while. Lyle is nearly drained."

"Hey, I gave you a job, though we need to talk to Glitch about your benefits package." Zack chuckled, and DG smiled. "Don't worry about it. I don't like to let my friends get away."

"Thanks, DG, I appreciate that." He nodded at the door. "There's Jeb. I'll be here with Lyle."

She patted his shoulder, heading back down the rows of beds. She was about halfway to the door where Jeb stood in conference with his men when she saw the condition of his shirt. Oh hell, he had been hurt. She almost broke into a run to him, but Cain walked in next, causing her panicked feet to root to the spot. If his son was hurt because of her… she couldn't finish the thought.

Cain's eyes scanned his son before concern filled his face and he asked something. Jeb responded by looking down in confusion, then back up with a headshake and a laugh. Relief flashed over Cain's face before he went stoic again. DG moved her feet again.

Cain pulled her into the conversation literally. Jeb grinned. "I'm pleased to report that the fortress is secured."

"At what cost?" DG asked.

"Not as bad as it should have been. Ten casualties, but this is all of the wounded. Everyone else in the unit is unhurt. The Fae reinforcements you found turned the tide. Vicious though, the only reason we have prisoners is because they weren't wearing leather coats."

"I did tell them not to hesitate to kill any Longcoats, but I think I meant it more like a they'll-shoot-you-first pep talk."

"And word has been sent to General Olson. I did that before we moved out." Jeb frowned, "DG, the Fae were adamant that they were fighting for you and that you were the Queen." His hazel eyes pierced just as sharply as Cain's blue ones, she noted. But hell, how to explain it without sounding like it wasn't the witch all over again?

Cain covered her shoulders with his arm. "Let it be, son. And leave it out of your report. It's a magic thing DG needs to discuss with her mother."

Jeb nodded with a sigh. "Go get some rest before the next crisis erupts."

"That sounds great." Sleep was so not what she wanted right now, but she needed to spare Jeb's feelings. Cain scanned the infirmary, so she bumped him with her hip. "Raw is helping here, and Zack is sitting with Lyle. But I'm done."

"Glitch is taking care of the provisions, so I guess we're not needed for anything right now." Cain gave her one of his half smirks and guided her to the door. "Found a place to bunk one flight up. Maybe not as nice as our first rooms, but heck of a lot closer to walk to." She nodded, and let him led the way up the stairwell and to the bedroom door. And even though she figured he had already scoped the room out, he did it again as she stood by the door. White was an austere decorating choice, she decided. The covers on the bed were white, the bed curtains hanging off the wooden canopy were white, the tapestries hanging on the stone walls had flecks of green on a background of more white, even the shaggy rug next to the bed that looked like fur was white. Good thing they wouldn't be staying here long. "Do you need to clean up?" Cain pointed his thumb over his shoulder to the second door.

"Maybe later." She locked the bedroom door before turning to her husband, who had the cutest what-is-she-up-to expression. She sauntered to him, "There's something I need to do first."

He didn't close the tiny gap between them, but his voice was huskier than normal. "And what would that be?"

DG put her hands on his chest. "I need to examine you." His crystal blue eyes opened wide as she unbuttoned his top vest button. "Make sure those bastards didn't damage you." Her hands trembled as she remembered his feral and trapped expression from her vision. She did need to go over every inch of his skin to make sure he was okay.

Cain rested his hands on top of hers. "Darlin', I'm okay. Thanks to you. You protected me with your magic." His finger rubbed over her wedding band. "You didn't even know you were doing it."

She curled her hands on the edges of his vest, and pulled him closer to her lips. "I still have to see, Wyatt." Their lips brushed as she spoke. "Do you want me to stop?" He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her. She smiled as he released her. She untied the leg strap of the holster before unbuckling the gun belt and pulling it off. Taking his hand, she led him closer to the bed and set his gun on the nightstand. She pulled off the Emerald pendent and set it next to the gun.

DG's lips pressed against his collarbone as her fingers found the shirt buttons under the vest. She alternated unbuttoning his vest and his shirt as she trailed kisses down his front. Cain growled and caressed her shoulders. She pulled his shirt free of his pants and slid her hands back up to his shoulders, pushing his shirt and vest out of the way. When his shoulders were bare, she pulled her hands down to his hardened nipples. Her thumb and fingers teased his right one as her tongue laved his left.

He shrugged out of the shirt and vest. His large hands cradled her head. His arms were ridged so not to press her even closer. She smiled against his skin before kissing across his chest and pressing her mouth over his right nipple. Her hands skimmed down his sides to move to his pants. His gasp turned into a hiss, and she jerked back. She took his left wrist in her hand, and he yanked his arm back. His jaw was clenched. She winced at the abrasion on his left wrist. His right matched.

She caught his left hand between hers, and kissed the palm. He shuddered. She held up his arm, careful not touch the bruise around his wrist, to look at the dark bruise just under his ribs. "It's fine," he muttered.

She ran her hand over his ribcage in the front, but stopped from touching the bruise. She switched the hands holding his arm up to run her left hand over his ribcage in the back. "Raw wouldn't miss broken bones, so your ribs are okay." She wished she hadn't seen the news special on the Other Side explaining what water boarding entailed. She feared asking him what had happened. He could lock his emotions down so tight, and she didn't want to trigger that. She kissed the edge of the bruise, careful not to press on the discolored skin. She felt Cain flex his left hand through her hold.

She pressed her forehead against him just above the waistband of his pants. "How many times?" she whispered.

"DG, it's over."

"Don't hide this from me." She felt tears pinprick her eyes, and looked up before they spilled. "I saw you in my dreams, so you're not protecting me from that." Cain looked disconcerted with her admission. She trembled, "They hurt you because of me. Please don't hide from me."

His lips twitched as he considered what she was asking for. "Twice," he answered hoarsely. "You burst in on the second session." He spat out the last word.

She stood up, wrapped her arms around his neck, and kissed him. His arms hugged her closer as his lips parted letting her tongue inside. His desire for her pressed against her stomach. She moaned into his mouth and his arms tightened. She still had a question about the bruise on his side, and pulled back from his lips. She knelt in front of him, petting his leg through his pants. "Did they hit you? To make you breathe in the water," she added as she picked up his right foot and tugged his boot off.

His sock was off before he answered. "No. Zero kicked me after your magic broke the table and freed me." His boots must have protected his ankles from bruising. She circled his left thigh with her hands and stroked to his other boot. "I felt you right before that." She tugged off his other boot and sock. "You saw me?"

She nodded as she caressed his hips and thighs. "I didn't see what they were doing to you. In my dream, you were drowning in the lake at Finaqua. I grabbed your hands and pulled you up."

"I thought," Cain thrust against her hands. "I thought I was supposed to rescue you."

"You have." Her hands squeezed his butt cheeks before gliding back to his belt and pants fastenings. "I'd be in the Palace on suicide watch by now if not for you." She left the unbuckled belt in the belt loops as she parted his pants from his skin. She kissed his stomach below his navel and watched his muscles ripple. "Don't ever dismiss that, Wyatt." She gripped the waistband of his pants. "Now on the bed, Tin Man."

He stepped out of his pants and back to the bed. His crystal blue eyes darkened with desire stared at her as she stripped. His hands twitched to help but she stood out of reach. Heat pooled between her thighs thanks to the look of need on his face.

He rolled onto the bed when she climbed on the mattress. She crawled in between his legs, kissing her way up the inside of his thigh. "DG, darlin'," he moaned.

She moved up, letting her hair drag over his groin and leaned into him with his leg between her breasts. She nipped at his hip and he squirmed and growled. "Do you want me to stop?"

"I want you." She cupped his sac in her hand. Cain bucked and tried to sit up. She shifted and pressed his torso down. He stopped moving, realizing what pressed up between her breasts. "How long are you going to drag this out?"

"When did you get so impatient?" DG grinned as she dragged her breasts off his body. Her tongue licked him up to his tip before she closed her mouth around his head. He nearly bucked her off, and he grabbed the bedcovers under them to try to still his body. She petted his trembling thighs before crawling above him. Straddling his hips carefully to not brush against his bruise, she guided him into her heat with a moan.

His eyes flew open as she bent over him. "Wyatt," she breathed out before his lips captured hers greedily. His calloused hands caressed her thighs before gripping her hips. He sat up with her, his lips moving down her neck as she threw her head back. His hands controlled the speed of their rhythm. They came together, and Cain hugged her to his chest before rolling her to the right.

As they settled on their sides and he pulled the blankets around them, her fingers ghosted over the cuts and bruises on his face. "I love you so much," DG said softly.

Cain tucked her under his chin. "After that, I'd certainly hope so. Knowing you were safe kept me going." He kissed the top of her head. "That and the expression on Zero's face when he couldn't stab me."

"What?" She pulled back to look at his face. "Zero tried to stab you?"

He chuckled before kissing her. "The five-inch blade curled like a wood shaving against my chest. I don't know who was more astonished, me or Zero." DG heard herself making her flabbergasted noise. He chuckled and kissed her again. "Anybody says anything bad about your magic, just point 'em to me. I'll set 'em straight."

She settled against his chest again. "Anything else you want to surprise me with?"

"No, Mrs. Cain." She could feel his lips turn up into a grin against her forehead. "Though I would like to know what was poking into my leg when you still had your pants on."


	31. Chapter 31

**Author's Notes: You don't think FFnet does it on purpose, do you? I post a chapter with smut and the alerts suddenly don't work for everybody. Kamali Shen, Hidden Relevance, and ASolidSecond managed to find the update. Sigh And the smut chapters are supposed to get high reviews. I smell a conspiracy! Please go back a chapter if you missed the smut. Now we have three chapters left after this one, and the story will be finished. But I hope I still have some surprises left for you faithful readers. **

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Chapter Thirty-one

Being on the final leg of the trek to Central City relieved Glitch beyond words. The wait at Quelala Fortress had been nerve wreaking at best, made worse when General Olson had arrived. The military commander and DG had butted heads over the fact that the Princess had sullied her hands with running a military operation and winning it. DG's lofty response of "what good is magic if I don't use it to help my people" only made the General splutter. Glitch occupied Cain with anything because the General's spluttering at DG made the Tin Man's hand go to his gun.

And if he hadn't worried about Cain shooting the General, he had to worry about someone else letting slip the Princess was married. Jeb's unit had been persuaded that the Fae were easily confused over who's in charge, but they were romantic softies that approved of the Princess and their captain's father. Even DG had gotten alarmed when a couple of plates full of Ozian aphrodisiac foods had ended up in front of just her and Cain.

As soon as Chelsea and Hal had been brought back from the Viewer village and Lyle was well enough to travel, DG agreed to take the carriage General Olson brought with his unit and head back to Central City. They were on their second day from the Northern Guild territories, and would reach Central City by midmorning.

He shifted what Zack called a notebook on his lap, grateful for the paper as strange as it looked. DG's way of dealing with her nervous energy was to making plans. You couldn't tell that meeting with her mother made her nervous by her voice, but every so often she pressed harder against Cain's side. Her husband squeezed his arm around her shoulders tighter when she did, but otherwise didn't move from his slouch against the carriage window and kept his hat down to hide his eyes.

Glitch tapped the pen against his lips. "DG, his name is Lord Liverpool, not Lord Livestock."

"He better be glad I don't call him Lord Asshole. Do I look like a brood mare?"

"You can't pay me to walk into that one," Zack said from the other end of Glitch's bench. Raw rumbled an agreement from the carriage floor.

"I agree Lord Liverpool needs to go, but if you make all his cronies leave the council, we're only left with six members. It's the six members with the important jobs, but you're supposed to have twelve."

"You would make seven," she pointed out. "And they sided with Lord Livestock. I can make mess of the Zone all by myself; I don't need idiots to help me do that faster."

"You're gonna do fine," Cain drawled from under his hat.

Glitch added his name to the approved Council list with a small, pleased smile. "But you still have five seats open."

DG bit her bottom lip. "Do we have any Viewers, Fae, or lawn gnomes on it?"

Lyle lifted his head from off Zack's shoulder. "Gnomes? You can't trust the gnomes."

"She means Munchkins, 'lawn gnomes' is her nickname for them," Glitch explained.

"Oh, they're okay. Not allergic to eggs." His head drooped back against Zack. Zack shrugged as much as he could at Glitch's expression of alarm.

"They totally earn it with their fashion sense, the multi-colored turkeys."

"Are you sure you're not still bitter about the cage?"

DG shot him a look. "You still haven't told me what you were doing in there."

"No Viewers ever on Queen's Council," Raw said.

"The other peoples of the O.Z. usually send ambassadors to represent their needs to the Queen," Glitch explained.

She shook her head. "They live here, they deserve a say."

"Why not just let them get voted into Parliament too?" Zack suggested.

"Moving too fast. Central City already has a democracy and that's been copied by a few other towns. But it won't do to have the minorities that don't understand it yet to get voted out."

"Two seats on the Council left."

She grinned. "Parliament can fill them. One from the House of Lords and one from the House of Commons, and then they can't say they don't have the ear of the Queen. Twelve seats. What's next?"

"What do we do with young Lord Gillikin?"

"Tutor's not in charge of his education. I like the kid too much to inflict that on him."

"He's a little young for formal lessons." Glitch considered the boy climbing over Raw. "But he is the right age to have a governess."

"Okay, Chelsea's hired."

"What?" The brown-haired girl's eyes took up most of her face. She stared at Glitch and then back at the young woman who sat beside her. "But I'm just a chambermaid, I can't! I wouldn't know what to do."

DG squeezed her hand. "Chelsea, you love him. You're loyal and you're brave. Those are the first things he should learn about life, and there's nobody better for the job than you. And if anybody says different, Wyatt shoots them."

Glitch waited for DG's giggle to show that was a joke. It didn't come. DG looked at his expression, puzzled at his mouth working and no sound. Words would probably help. "Cain can't just shoot people."

"That's my job, Zipperhead. They disagree with DG; I'll take care of it."

"You can't just shoot people!" Glitch felt a misfire in the process. Cain only lifted his hat and cocked an eyebrow at him, silently confirming that yes, he could and yes, he would. Cripes, how the hell could they keep him from causing a diplomatic incident?

Before he could think of an idea, the carriage swept through the separate outside gate the Palace had in the Central City wall and pulled to a stop in front of the main entrance. Zack poked Lyle in the side. "Time to stay awake now."

"Do I have to?" Lyle whined. That this kid was responsible for so much destruction was hard to believe at times like this. Glitch shook his head as he climbed out behind DG.

"Just until you find out where your bedroom is," Zack answered Lyle. "So you don't scare the mundanes."

"I wasn't talking out of time again, was I?"

"Not yet."

Their group trudged up the steps and through the carved ivory doors. Azkadellia rushed across the emerald green marble floor to greet them in the main hallway. "Ambrose! DG!" DG gave him a shove forward, so he caught Az's embrace first. She smiled up at him and a blush tinted her pale cheeks. He planted a kiss right on her plump lips, and then whirled her to face her sister. She stopped short, straightening her back as her brown eyes stared at DG. "Your magic," she whispered.

DG held out her arms. "It's okay, Az. It's dark, not evil. You and me should know the difference."

Az nodded and gave her a quick hug. "Your group got bigger."

DG shrugged. "I think we got room for them in this place. Heck, I could fit the whole farmhouse from Kansas in my rooms alone. Where's Mother?"

Az's shoulders slumped. "She's in a meeting with the Council. I told her when you were coming and you wanted to talk to her, but she just brushed it off."

And just like that, they were back to the status quo. DG was not to be seen or heard unless it was on Galinda's schedule. He looked at her, used to seeing the sadness and disbelief at these brush offs in her bright blue eyes, but the angry defiance she had now was new.

Az bit her lip. "Maybe it would be better to wait for lunch," she offered.

"Nope. I'm done with the waiting." DG rocked a little on her heels as she pulled the Emerald of the Eclipse out of her jacket pocket and hung it around her neck. "Can you get Chelsea, Hal, Zack, and Lyle set up in rooms near mine?" Az nodded and DG turned to them. "I'll see you guys later."

Zack grinned as he propped Lyle up. "Give 'em hell, Xena."

Glitch sighed as Az led the children away. "Are you sure you want to do this now?"

DG frowned. "Death of the O.Z., remember?"

Maybe he shouldn't have been so blunt. DG stalked down the hall that led to the Council chambers. So he only had one more warning to deliver before they met their fates in there. He put his finger under Wyatt Cain's nose. "No shooting!" The blond man smirked at him before walking around him to follow his wife. Cripes, what had they unleashed upon the O.Z. by letting them get married? He hurried after them and Raw.


	32. Chapter 32

**Author's Notes: Thanks to FFnet and the screwy alerts, this has been the week of catch-up reviews. So I know luckywynner86, Kamali Shen, Hidden Relevance, ASolidSecond, Purplehino, Sculder the Goblin Queen, Queen Isabella, and lady of the realm have all caught up. Can't speak for any of you lurkers out there. But here's the chapter the reviewers have been clamoring for: the showdown!**

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Chapter Thirty-two

DG wasn't angry, well not completely angry. She felt disappointed in her mother, and that made her angry. One, they saved the O.Z. again and that deserved a pat on the back. Two, she could've died and her mother didn't even give a shit. Maybe Galinda thought she deserved it. Three, she couldn't think of a third point because she was there.

She thrust open the double doors of the council chambers. Her mother sat at the head of the long table, seeing DG when she entered. Talking died. Twelve male heads of various ages turned to see who it was. "Hello, Mother, we need to talk."

Galinda smiled, but her lavender eyes looked warily at the three friends behind DG. "Welcome back, my Angel. Why don't you go clean up from your trip and we will talk after I'm done here?"

"No, this is Zone business."

The lord standing near the center of the table turned to her with a flushed face and she realized she had interrupted Lord Livestock. "We are handling the business of the Zone right now. You can share the details of your tour later." He turned his attention back to Galinda. "Now the situation in the Black Mountains needs prompt attention."

He didn't add "run along and play little girl," which is why DG stayed gentle when the dark blue energy surged from her. She pushed Lord Livestock back in his seat, and then pushed all the chairs but her mother's a good three feet from the table. Galinda's face blanched at the display, but DG ignored her. In her you-are-an-asshole-but-I'm-humoring-you-to-keep-my-job voice, she said, "I'm sorry but that wasn't a request. I am going to talk to my mother right now in private. Take a break."

The Council members looked to Galinda who had to nod before they stood up and left the room. Cain and Glitch shut the double doors while DG pulled a chair closer to Galinda. Her mother stared at her with a hint of dismay. "Your magic," she said. "You've accessed your dark magic."

"Will you stop looking at me like mobats sprouted from my forehead? It's dark magic, yang magic, and it's my magic. I'm not evil." Her mother didn't look reassured as she glanced down at the Emerald and back at DG's face. "If I was evil, why would I keep saving the O.Z.?"

Galinda swallowed before speaking. "My Angel, you don't understand. Dark magic as strong as you have…."

"Has only been seen in evil witches of the darkness?" DG snapped. "Like what you call them isn't a big clue? And I don't appreciate you having my lessons curtailed so I couldn't figure out how to use it."

Lavender eyes sparked. "That was to protect you and the O.Z. from the dark magic!"

"Evil comes from people, not what magic they use. I'm sorry you don't like the color, but it suits me."

"You have no idea what you are talking about, Dorothy Gale!" Galinda blanched again. "You cannot be Queen with dark magic; it has never happened before in the history of the Zone."

"Maybe the Zone needs something different now," Cain said quietly behind DG as he rested his left hand on her shoulder.

"A Tin Man would be an authority in what the Zone needs from its ruler?" Her mother got her regal airs back when not addressing DG, but she looked confused and unsure when her gaze went back to DG's face.

"Don't **ever** speak to my husband like that again." DG felt a surge of triumph with Galinda's jaw drop, but she squashed it to move onto her next point. "And Ozma's pact doesn't seem to have a problem with my magic." Galinda's narrowed eyes shot to Glitch, standing next to Cain. "Don't give him a dirty look. He only explained it after the Fae said I was Queen of the O.Z. and have been since you gave up your light."

"My Angel, you don't understand," Galinda said, turning even paler.

DG hoped she wasn't having a heart attack or something. "You're right. I don't understand why you wanted to make me afraid of my magic, but I'm willing to blame it on post-traumatic stress disorder. I don't understand why you think hiding from me or sending me to my rooms or giving me lousy lessons with Tutor is going to turn me into Az when I'm not made the same way. I don't understand why the savvy Queen everybody tells me you were before the witch would endanger the O.Z. and everyone living here."

"My Angel," Galinda's voice trembled.

"And I don't understand why you still think I'm seven annuals old!" DG snapped. "You barely use my name. It's always My Angel or Dorothy Gale when you're mad at me. DG isn't that hard to say. I do have one memory of you using it before." Galinda looked from DG to the men standing behind her. She flinched from Cain's gaze. "Start explaining to me like the twenty-two annuals old adult I am, or I'm out of here. I'll find some other way to help the O.Z."

"You aren't ready to be Queen!" Galinda shot back. "You don't understand anything about the Outer Zone. And I will not lose you to a civil war because you didn't know how to stop it!"

"Did you get the report from General Olson?" DG asked.

"He said you were bringing the new Lord Gillikin here and that you had found the Longcoats' support base and Captain Cain's force neutralized the threat." Anger sparked in her lavender eyes.

"That's creative suppression of the facts," Glitch said. Before DG could hush him, he continued. "Lord Quelala was leading the Longcoats and controlled a wizard in the shape of a dragon using blood magic. He planned to marry DG to secure the throne, and captured Cain and myself to make her agree to it. Then he threatened to unleash his forces on the O.Z. and win the throne by war. DG escaped, planned the assault, got Captain Cain's assistance, healed the vapor-addled Fae, compelled them to help, and stopped a war before it had a chance to start." He took a deep breath. "You do her a grave injustice, your Majesty, not trusting her abilities or her judgment."

Galinda looked at DG again with a different appraisal in her eyes. "You did all that?"

"I don't know why you sound so surprised. You're the one who sent me after the witch. He was killing Fae. And I wasn't going to marry him to put a stop to it, even without the whole bigamy thing." Cain's hand squeezed her shoulder. "It can't stay like this, Mother. You're risking the magic of the realm, I don't trust you, and the Fae and the Viewers see me as the rightful Queen. They won't support you if another noble decides you're too weak to rule."

"It was only until the realm was stable, that's all." Galinda's face fell, and she clasped her hands in her lap. "You no longer trust your own mother because of politics?"

"Politics have nothing to do with it." DG felt her hot anger boiling up again, and she struggled to keep her voice calm. "Treating me like a child, not telling what the hell was going, trying to kill Wyatt, that's why I don't trust you." Galinda's bewildered gaze shot from DG to Cain to Glitch before coming back to DG still unenlightened. Now DG's voice rose higher. "You don't even remember telling the Generals not to tell him and Jeb that Zero had escaped?"

Galinda winced as she recoiled. She leaned forward again when she touched the back of the chair. "No, My… DG, no. That wasn't why. By the gods, no." She held out her hands, but DG didn't grasp them. "I knew how much he means to you and I didn't want you to lose him if he went after Zero for revenge."

DG stared at her mother. "With all due respect, your Majesty, but that wasn't your decision to make," Cain said.

Galinda withdrew from trying to touch DG. "Hence the eloping. I guess that's what Azkadellia's emergency trip to Finaqua was all about." She sighed, "What do you want to do now, DG?"

Cain's fingers tightened on her shoulder. "I'm going to have to become Queen formally." Galinda nodded. "And I promised Az you guys could go all out on a wedding reception ball thingy, and there's no way we can stand to have both at the same time. But first, I want a Longcoat free honeymoon!" DG looked up to see Cain's lips twitch before she glanced at Glitch. "What's the normal time a princess gets for a honeymoon?"

Glitch smiled. "I think the O.Z. can survive without you for a month."

Galinda smiled tentatively, "Which Palace do you want, DG?"

"None of them. We're going to spend it on the Other Side."


	33. Chapter 33

**Author's Note: Okay, first I apologize for giving out huge responses to Queen Isabella and Hidden Relevance. It out to be evident why this is thirty-five chapters long; I can't stop. :) And we have a few other things to wrap up before heading off to the honeymoon, ASolidSecond and Sculder the Goblin Queen.**

**So did you ever wonder what the plan was that Emily referred to before they tossed DG into the travel storm?**

* * *

Chapter Thirty-three

"And Glitch is back on the Council starting now, so he can catch us up after the honeymoon." DG finished explaining what had happened in the meeting with the Queen.

"Did you have to define what PTSD is?" Zack asked. Cain wrapped his arms around her as they reclined on the settee. Lyle curled up on another couch nearby, since he had developed a case of narcolepsy after becoming human again. Zack sat in an armchair angled to keep an eye on the boy. DG had invited them to her rooms to eat.

DG caressed Cain's hand. "Actually, I didn't have to, well, other than updating terminology. Ahamo knew a couple of Vietnam vets and told her about the symptoms under 'shell shock.' But we also have five hundred years of 'dark magic equals evil.' Even I got caught up in it."

"Those in the O.Z. without magic aren't going to care," Cain said. "And I already promised to set them straight if they do."

"Let's see if she comes around on her own before I have to sic my scary Tin Man on her."

"And they're cool with the wedding?" Zack tucked his legs into the armchair cross-legged style.

DG snuggled, pressing more into Cain. "They're not happy with the circumstances, but are letting it go since they are getting the reception ball thingy." Cain shuddered and she patted his hand. "Jeb's unit is on the invite list, so it won't be us miserable with a bunch of snotty nobles. Plus I think they're so thrilled I'm married, they aren't fighting the honeymoon on the Other Side issue." She pouted, "And I was looking forward to zapping somebody about it."

Zack snorted. "I'm sure you'll get a chance when they start on the have a baby theme."

She shushed him. "Not so loud! You'll give them ideas and then I will have to zap them. And then Wyatt will shoot them."

Cain smirked into her hair. "You don't want kids, Darlin'?"

"Not what I said." Her elbow hit his stomach. "The Council is way too interested in my biological clock than should be healthy, and what makes it their business any way? Regardless, I doubt they want to sport bullet holes, so I'm looking out for them."

Cain's smirk melted into a smile. Lyle rolled over on the couch to face them. "I'm so glad I'm on the side of the family that doesn't have to worry about the throne."

"And what did you get in return?" Zack smirked. "Having to make sure a whole bunch of universes don't deviate from the master plan doesn't sound like a fair trade off to me."

"It's more behind the scenes work, less getting caught up in the games mortals like to play. Though it was fun to watch Zoe and Aunt Zelda lock horns over where Zorden fits on the inheriting the throne chart."

"Geez, is there anything left of Hyrule?"

"Uncle Link intervened before it got that far. Poor Zorden's on the list after Kevin and Kela's hypothetical kids, but Zoe's raising her out of the Palace. And I don't know what she threatened the twins with, but they both scrambled to Mom to find out if getting married and having kids was in their future." Lyle yawned. "I'm so glad it's not my problem."

DG craned her neck to look at Cain. "And this is what we have to look forward to as royalty?"

He shrugged. "Just remember, our kids will probably be able to zap you back." She giggled.

"So where on Earth are you going for your honeymoon?" Zack turned to DG and Cain.

"What about New York City?" Cain smirked at Zack's raised eyebrows. "For at least part of it."

"DG, tell me you're not planning on taking a tornado to New York City? I mean, it's not that I don't want you to visit, but the locals will notice."

Before DG could answer, Lyle spoke up sleepily. "Tornado? Oh, travel storm. Why are you using those when you have the silver slippers?" He sat up looking at the confused expressions on both DG and Cain's faces. "Sorry, talking out of time again. I have got to get a better handle on that. But I can take you to New York once I'm back to normal."

"Then we could take a travel storm back from Kansas. They don't stick out there," DG said.

"Kansas?" Zack laughed. "You want to go back to Kansas?"

"Wyatt wants to see where I grew up. And I'd like to see if the house survived the Longcoats and the travel storm."

"What do you mean by talking out of time?" Cain asked. Lyle's eyes when they looked directly at you were a little unnerving. And he thought nothing could faze him any more.

"I don't see time like mortals do," Lyle sighed. "Sometimes I get mixed up as to what is part of the present. I've gotten better though. When I was learning how to talk, the palace staff nicknamed me the prophecy kid. I was at least a week ahead of everyone else."

"In this case, I think you were in the past," Cain said. "There's a legend of the silver slippers, but they've been gone for a long time."

"I think I saw them," DG twisted to look at Cain's astonished face. "The first Dorothy Gale, she wore a pair of shiny shoes." That was all it took. The next morning had the two of them riding out to the Royal Mausoleum, and nothing he could say could dissuade DG from going.

The last bit of the ride around the mountain lake jabbed at Cain. The last time they had rode here worry and fear that something horrible had happened to DG nearly ate him alive. They left racing against the suns. She had told them later after the defeat of the witch what had happened. If those memories gnawed at him, how were they affecting DG?

When they stopped riding on the small plateau above the lake, he took her horse's reins from her hands. DG didn't notice him doing it. He tied the horses to a tree, and came back to his wife. "DG?"

She jumped, and shook her head. "I didn't think we'd be back here so soon." She pulled him up the hill to the tree line. "It's this way."

He saw the shimmering golden outline of doors in the trees for a moment before they swung open. His other hand curled around his gun grip as DG pulled him through them.

She led him into a three-story space of carved grey and white marble. Only one of the upper windows was at the proper angle to let the sunlight inside, but the staggering of windows on the third story would let the light all day. A statue of a former queen stood in a niche backlit with an emerald glow. A guardrail circled off the center of the floor. Cain looked over to it. A stone staircase hugged the wall of crypts into the depths of the earth. The royal line of the O.Z., going back beyond Ozma the Great. He shook his head to get rid of the dazed feeling and turned back to DG.

Her gaze focused on the green marble coffin to their left, the open green marble coffin, he noticed with a pang. "DG," he pulled her against his chest. "It's alright, I'm here."

She shuddered and hugged him tight. "I thought I'd be over this by now."

"It's alright. Take as long as you need." He ran his hand down her back.

It took a few minutes, but she took a deep breath. "The Grey Gale is over there." She pointed across the guardrail to a set of white double doors. He led her around to the right, avoiding the coffin, and kept his hand on her back.

'Dorothy Gale' cast on a metal plate screwed onto the gable above the doors. There were no knobs, only two metal plates with the symbol of the House of Gale embossed upon them. As DG approached, the symbol glowed. The doors swung in revealing a bright white light.

DG headed toward it. Cain caught her hand. "Not without me, Princess."

"Never." She squeezed it with a smile. They walked into the light that flashed around them. He blinked, and saw they stood on the Brick Route close to Milltown only all the color had been leached away from the landscape. DG and he were all that still looked normal. But DG twisted with a frown, not releasing his hand. "It didn't look like this before."

"It's different for everyone," said a young girl's voice behind them.

Cain whirled and tried to put DG behind his back, but she slipped to his side. The grey girl with her dark hair plaited into two pigtails looked younger than DG. She wore an old-fashioned plaid dress straight out of the history books and a pair of sparkling shoes. "Hi Dorothy," DG smiled.

"Did you stop the witch?" Dorothy asked with a serious gaze on her young face.

"Yeap, she melted."

The ghost girl smiled. "They always do that." Dorothy looked at Cain, and he felt like he was getting pinned by a superior. "You're the first to bring your consort here."

"I will get better at introductions, I swear. Wyatt Cain, Dorothy Gale."

He tipped his hat, "Ma'am."

"Welcome."

It was so quiet here, he was almost afraid of disturbing it. DG, however, didn't have that fear. "Aren't you lonely here?"

Dorothy's smile grew wider. "You're going to make a great queen, one of the finest the O.Z. has ever had. You care about people." DG shuffled her feet. "My loved ones are here. You can't see them because you came to see me." Dorothy tilted her head. "But that's not why you are here."

"We came to ask about the silver slippers." DG pointed at Dorothy's feet.

Dorothy picked up her foot and considered it. "These are just copies made from my memories. You have the real ones." DG shook her head slowly. "They were sent to Kansas with you, to help protect you and to keep them from the witch."

DG looked bewildered, staring at the silver slippers. Cain spoke before she said something derogatory about her parents in front of the Grey Gale. "Another detail your nurture units didn't tell you, Sweetheart?"

"Longcoats were shooting at us. There probably wasn't time to get them," DG said. "Mom said it wasn't going according to the plan."

"The silver slippers belong in the O.Z." Dorothy's smile had vanished. "Your magic is strong, but you will need their magic with the Emerald of the Eclipse to repair the damage the witch did."

"We're going to the Other Side," Cain said. "We'll find them."

Dorothy nodded, and turned. "Wait," DG said. "Adsaluta said I should talk to you about my magic."

"You're not afraid of it now."

"She said you understood the duality."

Dorothy nodded. "What you discovered between you and your sister, Ozma and I also shared, once the slippers awoke the dark magic latent in me. Those with the light tend to suffer more without the dark to protect them."

"No one's going to hurt Azkadellia ever again," DG vowed.

"May your reign be long and just, DG." The Grey Gale turned and walked a few steps on the old road before vanishing.

DG grabbed Cain's hand. "And Zack was worried we'd be bored in Kansas."

"I think I understand why he got so grumpy about not knowing any details." He squeezed her hand as she led them back into the real world.


	34. Chapter 34

**Author's Notes: I don't know if the ending is what anyone is expecting, so I'm just crossing fingers that you like it. I don't know, maybe I can fill in the blanks with shorter stories. The problem with that is I don't seem to create short stories with _Tin Man_. Yeah, there's stuff the plot bunnies have given me that won't see paper because of length (and X-rated-ness and I probably shouldn't have admitted that). One more chapter to go. I'd give shout-outs, but today is not shaping up to be a good day, and I have to go concentrate on some other things right now. Reviews will make me feel better, hint, hint.**

* * *

Chapter Thirty-four

Lyle recovered enough to do magic a couple of days after Cain and DG's trip to the Grey Gale. DG's parents seemed to approve of Cain as a son-in-law, but had no idea how to relate to him anymore than they did DG. At least, Cain didn't wear his gun to the family meals. Zack figured that was huge progress, especially with how well he took Other Side fashion advice. DG and Zack had tried talking to him separately, and they tried together. He wouldn't budge. Where he went the fedora, the duster, the gun belt, and the vest went too.

Lyle turned a gateway arbor in the Palace's garden courtyard into a portal to Earth, so the good-byes were said outside. Zack thanked DG's parents for their hospitality before turning to those he had journeyed with. Glitch and Az were first. "I'm certainly going to miss the way you could get under his hat," Glitch grinned. "It was entertaining to watch you two. Gorgeous, did I tell you how he kicked Cain right off his feet?"

"Yes Ambrose, three times." She clasped Zack's hand between hers. "Take care of them in your city. I know they're capable, but…."

"Big sisters worry, trust me I know that one. Take care." Zack turned to Raw next.

"I will miss your quiet mind, Zack." Raw held Zack's hand between his. "You will be a good father for your children of the flesh and not."

"Thanks, Raw. Take care of this gang."

Chelsea and Hal were last. "You were the best imaginary cousin we've ever had. See you down the road." She pumped his arm.

"Same here." He tickled Hal on his side, and stepped through the portal back into the library's lobby.

DG and Cain stepped out from between the bookshelves and the glow faded. "That is so much better than a travel storm!" she chuckled looking around. Cain even pushed back his hat.

Lyle shrugged. "I don't recommend squeezing through one as a dragon though. They don't expand much. Here." He handed her a brown accordion file.

"What's this?" She flipped the papers inside, but didn't pull any out.

"It should make things on Earth easier for you. It's the least I could do after causing so much havoc. When I have the chance to do more, I will. Now, I have to go face my mother." Lyle shuddered before waving a hand at the exit. The doorframe glowed purple, and he clasped Zack's forearm. "We will meet again."

"Why don't we try without the mortal peril next time?"

Lyle grinned. "I wish. We're just drawn to crossfires, and your nephew has a hard time distinguishing friend from foe." He sauntered out of the door and vanished.

"Nephew?" Cain asked.

"As far as I know I don't have one yet." Zack shook his head. "So where to first? It's almost closing time for the library."

DG grinned. "I'd like to meet your sister." She tucked the folder under her arm.

Zack felt his stomach sinking. Every self-preservation instinct he had screamed _bad idea, mayday, abort!_ But he couldn't think of a plausible reason as to why they couldn't meet Allie. "Looks like the magic is gone. Let's go." He led them out of the library and down the steps onto the street. The nonstop stream of cars honked to make the traffic go faster, and people drifted up and down the sidewalks in and out of the shops and restaurants. Zack relaxed; he was home. He turned to see DG and Cain cutting off the circulation in their clasped hands, and Cain's hand hovered over his gun. Self-preservation instincts flew out replaced with protecting his friends. "This way, Allie's brownstone isn't very far."

He didn't worry about losing them. Cain kept hold of DG and stayed as close to Zack as he could without walking on him. A couple of blocks north and they got away from the heaviest auto traffic and the pedestrians thinned out as they went deeper into the residential area. Cain moved him and DG next to Zack. "How many people live here?"

"Over eight million."

"That's more people than in the entire Zone!"

"Wyatt, I told you the Other Side is bigger," DG patted his arm. "You'll like Kansas better. They're more spread out."

Zack stopped in front of the center brownstone on the block. 'Samaritans, Inc.' was painted in the center of the first floor bay window and on the door. He paused on the steps up to the door to dig in his booksack for his key ring.

"Samaritans, Inc.?" DG asked, looking over his shoulder.

"That's Allie's business. She helps women and children get out of abusive relationships."

"Is that what you meant by she uses her violent tendencies for good?"

Zack grunted finding the right key. "Part of it. It's a good outlet for her sneaky side and it occupies a bunch of vigilantes that haven't had much to do since the Shredder died." He ushered them inside the entrance hall between the staircase to the right and Allie's business office on the left. Music blared through the whole house system Donnie had installed for them. Zack reset the alarm. "Somebody's home. Allie?"

_I've got a southern belle too_

_and ruby red shoes._

_With a body of straw,_

_are you sick of it all?_

Damn, could they even hear him over the music? "Allie? Mike?" He moved down the hall toward the kitchen.

_There's a man made of tin_

_with an oil can grin._

_And I'm gonna get you_

_And your little dog too._

The song ended abruptly. "Hand away from the gun," ordered a familiar female voice.

His blonde sister stood in the door with her katana extended in front of Cain's neck. "Don't skewer him, Allie. He's a friend."

Allie's blue-grey eyes narrowed at Zack before focusing on Cain. "This is a rule I didn't think I needed to say. Don't bring your friends over here armed."

DG smirked, "See honey, I told you to take it off." Cain glared as he kept his hands raised. She turned to Allie. "I'm sorry, it's just my husband is awfully attached to his gun."

"And I'm awfully attached to Mike and don't want him to get his head blown off because my brother has gone temporarily insane."

Zack winced. "Cain's not that trigger happy, Al. I'm not shot and I gave him a lot more reason to."

DG turned to him. "That so didn't help on the reassurance scale."

"That's my baby brother. Still thinks putting himself in a life threatening situation and being snarky about it is a valid distraction."

"And one day I'm going to remember it doesn't work on you." Zack crossed his arms. "Can you refrain from going off with his head? It'll ruin their honeymoon."

Allie stepped out of the office, and the katana blade never left Cain's neck. "Okay, Billy the Kid, I'm putting your gun away for safe keeping and then we can sit down for a talk."

"Fine as long as your sword goes too."

Allie slid his gun out of the holster. "Reasonable request. Take them to the dining room, Zack." She closed the office door.

Zack motioned for them to follow him. Cain got closer to DG. "Billy the kid?"

"A famous gunslinger in history. I told you to change. Zack told you to change. Maybe now you'll listen to us."

"You didn't trade in your pants," Cain pointed out as Zack opened the door on the right in the hallway.

"That's different; I'm trying to start a fashion revolution." DG stopped inside the door. Zack held it open for Cain and couldn't see what froze her. "Um, hi?"

"Come in, have a seat, I don't bite." The human-sized turtle wearing the orange bandanna mask around his eyes gestured to the end of the long table closest to the kitchen. "I'm Michaelangelo, but you can call me Mike."

"I'm DG and this is my husband, Wyatt Cain." She grabbed his hand before heading to the table.

"Pleased to meet you."

Cain didn't seem alarmed, but the Fae in the dungeon matched the Turtles in the weirdness department. DG's eyes darted and she fought a losing battle not to ask. "Are you an alien?"

Zack resisted the urge just to run. He was too far away from the door for it to be a graceful exit regardless.

"Nope, mutant. The aliens are fuzzy or fishy." Mike grinned wider as he turned to Zack. "Stay a while, Zack. We need to chat about your LARPing. 'Cause Splinter's gonna have a heart attack if you start dressing as a vampire like those kids that got arrested in Central Park last month."

He slapped his hand over his eyes. "We weren't LARPing."

"Larping?" Cain asked DG as he scooted his chair closer to hers. They sat on the side of the table where they could watch all the doors.

"I don't know."

"Live action role playing," Mike answered. "It's a game with costumes. Given how he's dressed," he gestured to Cain, "it's that or a time traveling phone booth. But no screaming or fainting, you're okay in my book. I'm sure Allie's reserving judgment. Aren't you, babe?" He grinned at the door.

Allie had slipped into the room silently. "My grumpy demeanor is helped when my plans for the evening get completely derailed." She glared, and Zack scooted to the head of the table. That put Mike between him and his sister.

"Don't be grumpy. The night hasn't even started yet. Are you staying for supper?"

Zack risked a look at Allie while he took off his booksack. Yeap, she had on her if-I-don't-get-answers-you-are-going-to-hurt face. "Might as well," he resigned himself. "They were suffering from Big Apple shock."

"That's a nickname for New York City," DG told Cain.

Mike nodded. "I'll put on a second pizza. Zack will have his Dew. What would you guys like to drink?"

DG recovered the more Mike talked. "Do you have Coke?"

"Sure, and for you, Cowboy?"

Cain looked around to make sure Mike was talking to him. "Coffee?"

"Sorry, we're out. Allie used the last to make sludge this morning."

Allie sat left of Zack with a snort. "That coffee urn is possessed."

Mike shook his head. "Try a Coke," DG suggested. Cain looked at her dubiously. "If you don't like it, there's always water."

"Okay," Mike headed through the archway between the kitchen and dining room. Knocking that wall down to a half-wall was the only changes made to the dining room when they had gutted the brownstone. Mike had wanted a dining room big enough to seat everybody in the clan for a holiday meal.

DG filled the silence by turning to Allie. "We're sorry for barging in like this. But Zack told us so much about you, I wanted to meet you."

Allie smirked. "None of it can be proved in a court of law." Zack saw all of Cain's Tin Man senses go into full alert. "So where are you from?"

"Australia," Zack put in.

"Mike is currently obsessed with the _Crocodile Hunter_, One who can't lie to me."

"I'm rooting for the crocodiles." Mike handed out the soft drink cans.

"Not only are the accents wrong, his gun was not made by any revolver companies I know of, and he's having a hard time opening his drink." Allie fell silent as DG traded her open can with Cain's.

"Couldn't you for once not be hyperactive detail girl?" Zack snapped.

"Maybe if you didn't make it so damn easy to figure out something's wrong." Allie's eyes went stormy.

"Nothing's wrong! They wanted to meet you and I thought you'd be happy I have more friends."

"How stupid do you think I am?"

"I plead the fifth." Zack crossed his arms.

"Like that has ever worked with me your entire life!"

"There's always a first time."

Cain's head twisted from DG to Allie, then back to DG. He smirked, "I'm seeing the resemblance." DG shot him a dirty look and he actually grinned. It surprised Zack to see the man show his teeth.

Mike squeezed Allie's hand resting on the table. "Zack, your sister has had a bad week. And since I don't want to send her to Japan, how about you try not goading her into killing you?"

Zack debated just how long he could distract his sister with what upset her before she got back to the relentless figuring out what was wrong with DG and Cain. Maybe five minutes. "What happened?"

"Sammie went to a family reunion, so I had to handle the courthouse detail. And it was Judge Simmons docket."

"You didn't threaten to blow up the courtroom again, did you?"

"I didn't have to, he remembered the first time. Then we must have wasted half the day on him figuring out why I wasn't doing life. The little detail of an eight-year-old finding C4 didn't seem to matter." Allie shook her head.

"He tried to split us up in the foster care system when we were younger," Zack explained to DG and Cain. "Did you have to spend the whole week with him?"

"No, it was only a couple of days." Her free hand drifted up to run her fingers across the scars the Shredder had put on her face.

Mike sighed. "She lost a client." She glared at the Turtle. "You don't like him hiding stuff, so you don't get to either." The oven timer beeped and he got up.

"Murder suicide," Allie said. "Now not a good time to bring a gun around."

"How about more pleasant dinner conversation?" Mike slid the pizzas carefully onto the table before handing a stack of plates to Zack. "Are you two planning on sightseeing?"

"I guess the usual touristy things." DG answered as she put two slices of the meat lovers' pizza on a plate and passed it to Cain. "Empire State Building, Statue of Liberty, seeing a show on Broadway." She moaned around her mouthful. "This is the best pizza ever. Totally worth a five month wait."

Mike beamed, and Zack realized it was one of his from scratch creations. He saw Allie's ears twitch with curiosity just like a cat's before pouncing. "And where have you been five months out of reach of pizza? I didn't think such a place existed on Earth."

DG glanced at Zack. No way was he going to crack. The last thing Allie needed was another reason to worry about him. DG sighed, "We're from the O.Z., the Outer Zone, some kind of parallel world. Actually, I was raised in Kansas and only returned there five months ago."

Zack pushed away his plate. He felt Allie's eyes on him but refused to look up. "Is that where you went three years ago when you got sucked up in the glowing vortex of doom?"

Now he glared at Mike. "You guys promised not to tell!"

"Well, I didn't," he answered.

Allie leaned back. "How stupid do you think I am?"

"I already pled the fifth; I'm not changing that."

She sighed. "You came back with hair past your shoulders after being missing for three hours." Zack resisted the urge to squirm. "Then Leo was impressed with your sword techniques, like you had been practicing for days. Then Chief Sterns calls and wants to know what kind of drugs I have gotten you hooked on that those Black Knight idiots were peddling because they saw you get sucked into what they called the glowing vortex of doom. Volunteering for six months of random testing finally convinced the man that whatever was going on, it wasn't drug related."

"It's not my fault Chief Sterns doesn't trust you." Zack muttered.

"Then a few months later was Ron's weird car accident."

"He was hit trying to cross the street."

Allie snorted. "He was a dead body before that car touched him. Damnit Zack, if you were hiding that, why stage it right in front of me? And it was after that you started wearing that triangle ring and Keno avoids being alone with you."

Zack drained the Mountain Dew can. She waited for a response. "I've only been to the O.Z. this once. The other times were to different worlds. You can't stop it, prevent it, or fight it. For some reason, I got flagged by the universe to go."

"He's a hero in the O.Z.," Cain said. "He helped DG stop a civil war from starting." A compliment from Cain, who would have thought?

"Why didn't you want us to know about it?"

He looked up at Allie. Kuso, she was trying to hide her disappointment and hurt. "I didn't want to get locked up in a mental ward."

Mike chuckled. "Come on, Zack. I'm with your sister, one of your best friends is a Martian, and you're going to lead a ninja clan when you grow up. We haven't locked you in crazyville for any of them yet."

"And I didn't want to freak Allie out. There's nothing you can do to stop it other than go with me, and you can ask Keno how much fun that is."

"I have enough to deal with on this world, thanks all the same." Zack watched her warily. Allie smirked, "How long did you think the overprotective big sister act was going to continue?"

"Honestly? Until I died."

"You are going to lead the Hamato clan and then the Foot Clan. You have to leave Leo's and my shadows at some point. It's a little disconcerting that you have to go to other worlds to learn how to do that, but," she glanced at Cain, "it sounds like you're doing the right thing."

"And you better stop there before you get all mushy on him," Mike advised as he got refills for everyone.

"Can you still keep quiet about it? I don't want Donnie poking me to try to figure out how it works."

"Fair enough," Allie smiled.

DG prodded Cain's arm, smiling at his empty plate. "How do you like pizza?"

"I like it better than peanut butter. Not sure about this Coke stuff yet." He took another sip. "So what's in the package Lyle gave us?"

She wiped off her hands on a paper towel, and pulled the papers from the accordion file. Stuff rattled inside, and she pulled out three cards. "A copy of my license; he could have updated this awful picture though. A driver's license for you," she passed the slip of laminated paper to Cain. "And a credit card; he didn't have to do that."

"It'll make buying tickets or renting a car easier though," Zack pointed out.

"Yeah, we can't walk to Kansas." DG picked up the pile of papers and put them back in the folder as she recognized them. "A marriage license for us."

"You have to have permission to get married here?" Cain asked.

"Used to," Allie answered. "Now they're used for proof of marriage."

"A copy of the deed to the farmhouse, I was worried there might be a mortgage on the place. Gun permit for Wyatt, that'll come in handy. A copy of a will?" DG thumbed through those stapled pages. "My roboparents left me everything?"

"It's not like they had any other kids," Zack chewed his pizza again.

"Yeah, but a certificate of adoption for me? And a death certificate for Hank and Emily Baum." DG shoved the papers into the accordion file with a furrowed brow.

"Hank and Emily Baum?" Cain asked.

"Momster and Popsicle's names. How did he come up with all this stuff?" She turned to Zack.

Zack shrugged, "Lyle's magic works differently from yours. And if you're planning on going back to your home in Kansas, you need a cover story."

"Back up," Mike said, "roboparents?"

Cain smothered his laughter. DG eyed him as she answered Mike. "My birth parents sent me here with a couple of robots, nurture units, and they raised me. And they are dead, so the death certificate and will makes sense."

"How fast did you leave town?" Allie collected the dirty plates. "Did you tell anyone you were leaving?"

"Longcoats showed up to kill me and my roboparents shoved me into the travel storm before they jumped in. But I don't think that's the best story to tell the neighbors."

"Your birth parents made contact." Allie returned from the kitchen. "Hank and Emily went with you to meet them, and they died in a car wreck. That part is easy. What you need is a cover story for your cowboy."

"What is that?" Cain asked.

"A guy who herds cattle or a football player from Dallas," Mike explained with a grin. "Now why was roboparents so funny?"

"I only understand half of what comes out of her mouth, and thought it was an Other Side thing." He smirked at DG's glare. "And I have never herded cattle."

"Then you better change your clothes," Mike said. DG laughed. Cain glared at her and she only laughed harder.

"We told him that, repeatedly," Zack explained. "He didn't trust our fashion advice."

"Even I know you're a century behind, dude. And I don't wear clothes."

Allie propped her chin in her hand. "And I thought I had seen every variation of a cop uniform possible."

"It's Tin Man in the O.Z.," Zack corrected her.

Cain turned his appraising gaze on Allie. "You would make a good one."

"Thanks, but I don't play well with others."

Mike grinned, "And by that, she means she doesn't take supervision well."

"When you've done this as long as I have, being treated like a rookie is demeaning." She turned back to Cain. "You quit the force, and work as a private security consultant. Saner hours, better pay, and it explains your demeanor and why you still have a gun."

DG wiped her eyes. "That could work. But not dressed like that."

Cain sighed, long and drawn out, as he removed his hat. "Fine, you win."

DG squeezed his hand. "It's not the end of the world, Wyatt. And I won't conjure up anything as uncomfortable as that military dress uniform."

"Anything is better than that."

"I better get you guys to a hotel and get home. April will get worried soon." Zack grabbed his booksack.

"It was nice meeting you," DG said, starting the good-byes. "And thanks for the help."

"Think nothing of it," Mike said as he led them toward the front door. "We like helping people."

Allie ducked into her office and brought out Cain's pistol. "I don't recommend walking into a hotel with it dangling from your hip."

Cain's lips twitched as he pulled off his duster and hid the gun and belts with it draped over his arm. Zack felt confident Cain's finger was near the trigger. "See you down the road."

"Take care."

Zack led the way down the sidewalk. "That wasn't so bad, was it?" DG asked as she pulled Cain closer.

"The whole reason I didn't tell her is because I didn't want her to go crazy trying to protect me."

"Did she really threaten to blow up a courthouse?" Cain had an amused tilt to his voice.

"It was just the courtroom. We gotta saying here 'doesn't suffer fools gladly.' Whoever came up with it was describing Allie."


	35. Chapter 35

**Author's Notes: Yes, we have finally reached the end of this story, but not what is probably the end of the saga. Thank you Hidden Relevance, Queen Isabella, ASolidSecond, Purplehino, and Cat Yuy for reviewing the last two chapters. For any lurkers (the stats kind of give you away) this is your last chance to tell me what you think.**

**Now when I composed this story, I didn't see the possibility of a sequel. It didn't occur to me until I was already posting. And while I posted this one with major holes in the Zackverse storyline, what I have in mind will not work until those holes are plugged. Did I start working on any of that? No, I started a stand-alone _Tin Man_ story with pirates. So you will probably see that one before anything else.**

**This is a rather rambling apology if you feel that too many loose ends were tied up.**

* * *

Chapter Thirty-five

DG crammed as much sightseeing as she could stand in the first day, but the crowded elevator up the Empire State Building had almost set off a claustrophobia attack for both of them and the population density gave Cain protection detail jitters. He refused to go out without his gun, hated the under the shoulder holster that hid it, and only unclenched his teeth to eat. When sex didn't release the tension, she knew she had to get her Tin Man out of New York.

She didn't want to use her magic to sneak his gun past airport security. She got a migraine from making clothes. The train ride took longer, but it was less stress than driving all the way to Kansas. Cain was amused with her concern over putting him into a metal box. "It's not being able to move that's the real problem," he assured her.

With the pressure of the crowded city off, her growing nervousness amused him. He pulled her into his lap in their cabin. "You're going to do fine. Just don't let them pin you on any details."

"And what would you know about fabricating something for a whole group of people?" DG complained.

"You think I told the truth about being in the Resistance to Longcoats?" He nuzzled her neck before nipping it.

"I can't put you and lying together. You've never lied to me." His tongue moved against her skin and she shuddered arching into him.

"I never had to lie to you," he murmured.

They rented a car in Topeka to finish the trip to where she would always consider her hometown. She glanced at her husband reclining in the passenger seat. He totally vibed cop straight from _Law and Order_ in the grey slacks and jacket. And even though she missed the fedora, he still looked sexy as hell. She turned her eyes back on the road. Who would have guessed after all her bad run-ins with Gulch that she would fall head over heels for a cop from the Outer Zone?

Cain cracked open his crystal blue eyes and looked at the clock on the dashboard. "Are you planning on stopping for lunch?"

"Hungry?"

"Better to face your farm on a full stomach," he smirked.

She sighed, "The only place to eat in town is where I used to work."

"Do you think they're going to make you start working again?"

"No, but I do feel bad about leaving them in a lurch."

Why did she even bother trying to cover her nervousness? "Don't tell me the princess who faced the Sorceress, Ichiro, Zero, and a dragon is scared of her former coworkers?"

She pulled into the Hilltop Café's parking lot. "You fight dirty, you know that?" He only chuckled as they got out of the car.

"DG!" Phoebe attacked her with a hug as soon as they walked in the door. "My God, what happened to you and your folks? Elmer Gulch said your place got hit by a twister and you never showed up again!" The older woman squeezed harder.

"Phoebe, it's okay. I'm fine." DG patted her back. "Our place got hit by a twister?" Phoebe's attention now focused on Cain, who put his hand on DG's back. "Oh, this is my husband, Wyatt Cain."

"Husband! You got married, girl!"

That yell got Carter's attention. He even came out of the swinging door that separated the dining room from the kitchen. "DG? Where the hell have you been?" The rest of the kitchen gang stuck their heads out through the order window. Even the customers were watching her now. And with Cain's hand on her back, she couldn't bolt. "Why didn't you call?"

"I thought Dad said he had." She hated blaming Popsicle, but she took a deep breath. "I found out I was adopted, and my birth mother wanted to see me. We dropped everything and went to meet her. I've been learning about my family for the past five months."

"And getting married." Phoebe looked at Cain.

DG chuckled, "Okay that just happened last week."

"Congratulations," Carter said. Before DG could thank him for his sudden display of sentimentality, he continued. "If you're looking for your last paycheck, I signed it over to Gulch to pay for your speeding ticket. Now let 'em eat, Phoebe."

"Don't get your apron in a twist," Phoebe said at Carter's retreating back. "Sorry about the paycheck, Deeg." She showed them to a table in the corner. "Gulch was talking about a bench warrant, like it would summon you out of thin air. Did Hank and Emily head out to the farm ahead of you two?"

DG looked at the table. At least, this part didn't need any acting skills whatsoever. Cain grabbed her hand under the table, squeezing it. "There was a car accident soon after we found my birth mother. They…" she pushed through the tightness in her throat, "they didn't make it." Phoebe clucked sympathetically. "I buried them in Milltown."

Cain squeezed her hand harder in warning, but Phoebe just patted DG's shoulder. "Hank always missed that place. I'll get you a couple of Cokes while you decide what you want."

"That wasn't so bad," Cain murmured as he picked up the menu.

"She hasn't started on you yet." She ignored his interrogatively raised eyebrow trying to find the perfect entrée that would taste good and annoy Carter because he had to make it.

Phoebe set down their drinks. "Daily special is meatloaf, emphasis on the loaf."

Meaning more breadcrumbs than meat. "Pass. Soup of the day?"

"Scorched potato," Phoebe shook her head.

"Chicken fried steak?" DG asked.

"That I'll feed you."

"Make it two." Cain set down the menu. Phoebe nodded and left to put the order in.

DG felt sorry for Phoebe's other tables because they had ceased to exist. She figured they had ten minutes before Carter started yelling. "So how did you two meet?"

Cain leaned back. "I was working for DG's birth mother."

"And what do you do for a living, Mr. Cain?" Phoebe hovered over their table.

"I'm a security consultant."

"And you're wasting your honeymoon in Kansas?"

"I wanted to see where DG grew up and she had business to take care of."

"Though it sounds like now we have to add house repairs to the list." DG stirred her Coke with the straw. "How bad is it, Phoebe?"

"I haven't been out there, so I really can't say."

"Order up!" Carter yelled. Phoebe rolled her eyes and headed to the window.

One of the men sitting at the counter swiveled on his stool. "If you're going out there today, DG, I can swing by 'bout three and give you an estimate on the damages."

"Thanks, Mr. Franks, I'd appreciate that." He nodded as he left his money on the counter. DG turned back to Cain. "He's the only contractor in town."

Phoebe made her refill rounds and ended up at their table. "So what's your birth mother like? Do you like her?"

"I still don't know her very well. It's a lot to take in. I have a sister I didn't even know about."

"I don't know if I'd be as calm as you are if I found out I was adopted."

Cain smirked, "She wasn't that calm."

"It's been five months; I've had time to get used to the idea."

"Order up!"

"How much longer before we get ours?" Cain asked as Phoebe served a booth on the other end of the dinner.

DG scanned the patrons. "If we're not next we're right after it." He nodded, accepting her knowledge of waitressing. "I wish we'd gone to the farm first."

"It's not going anywhere, kind of like us right now."

"Order up!"

"Here you go." Phoebe slid the full plates in front of DG and Cain. "So what are you planning to do with the farm?"

Cain kept his face neutral as he studied the fried meat, mashed potatoes, green peas, and white gravy on his plate. DG answered Phoebe. "I think we'll keep it. It'll make a good vacation home."

"DG, nobody has vacation homes in Kansas."

"Or we can use it as punishment for the kids. Shape up or we're moving to Kansas." They both laughed at that.

Carter stuck his head out of the order window. "Phoebe, socialize on your own time!"

Phoebe flounced away and Cain leaned closer. "And you managed to remain employed here how long?"

"Carter threatened to fire me every other day. But I was the only other one in town who could to work the morning shift. Plus I had incentive to keep working. I kept getting speeding tickets." He shook his head as he chuckled.

Phoebe gave them space to finish their lunch, but insisted that she and DG were getting together on her day off because she wanted all the details about the wedding. DG agreed, because Phoebe didn't release the credit card until she promised.

Cain didn't recline when they started toward the farm again. "Were you serious about the vacation home?"

"I couldn't call it a bolt hole in case war breaks out in the O.Z., could I? Might need to get the kids or Az to safety."

He turned from watching the landscape. "Some in the Palace would think you were preparing to cut and run."

Her body still heated up under that ice blue gaze. "Maybe you should talk to them about how I well I cut and run."

"More fun to watch them eat their words."

DG turned the car into the long gravel driveway. She could see the white house and the trees surrounding it at the end. "I think I've been a bad influence on you."

"I've been like this for a while; you can ask DeMilo. It's more amusing to watch 'em squirm."

She parked the car at the end of the driveway. The cut metal heart labeling it '39' hung from the barbwire fence and swung in the breeze. Her mouth went dry as she looked at the white house between the oak trees. She got out of the car without saying anything. The right side of the house was swathed in plastic tarps. A four-by-four propped on the porch's railing wall held up the corner of the roof. More tarps covered the roof and clear visqueen covered where the windows in her gable should have been. The front door was boarded up. On the lawn and in the field, plants tried to grow in the swath the travel storm had left in the ground.

Cain pulled her back against his chest. "It's still standing. We can fix it."

"I was hoping we could stay here."

"The town doesn't have an inn?"

She tilted her head up to look at him. "It has a motel. But it has a reputation. The dungeons in the Tower had less vermin."

"Ah." He kissed her forehead. "The barn's still standing. At worse, we could camp in it."

"We'll survive roughing it, but will we survive Mr. Frank's estimate? Hopefully, he won't say demolish it and start over."

"We won't give him that option." He escorted her closer to the house. "Any other entrances?" Both the door on the left side of the porch and the back door that led into the kitchen had clasps nailed to them with a big padlocks locked tight. "Any ideas on who would be protecting this place?"

"None," she shrugged.

By the time they got the padlocks off, Mr. Frank had arrived to give his opinion. "You sure lucked up, DG. It could've been like Greensburg. The whole town flattened." He peered under the tarps. "This house is old, but it's solid. Your interior wall is fine. I don't see anything wrong with the wiring, but I'd turn off the circuits for this side just to be sure."

DG found the breaker box in the kitchen while Cain shadowed Mr. Frank. The red-haired man prodded the outlets with a current testing box in the dining room. "Is it safe to stay here?" Cain asked.

"The roof hasn't caved in yet. This house is solid, I'd sleep here. You will need a new roof. Can't patch that damage. And you best replace all the siding; never be able to match the original. Shame you got vandals though." He stepped over the whatnot cabinet lying on the floor.

DG turned on the faucets. They groaned, but shot out water. She turned them off and joined the men in the living room. "We have indoor plumbing. Do we have electricity?"

"A little bit, leave that side off until I can get Rory to go over it." Mr. Frank replaced the current testing box with a small notebook. He jotted down his notes and figures, tallied them up with a grunt, and passed the sheet to Cain when he was done.

She stood beside him to see the estimate too. "Will you knock some off if we swing hammers too?"

He chuckled. "Depends on how well you swing a hammer. I can get my crew together to start in a couple of days, providing how fast we can get the materials."

"He has to get back to work in about three weeks, so you better be finished by then."

Mr. Frank shook their hands with a friendly chuckle. "Should be plenty of time. I'll be in touch."

Cain kissed DG after Mr. Franks left. She returned it slowly. "Do you want the grand tour?" Cain agreed and they picked up the furniture the Longcoats had shoved. She took him through the kitchen; let him poke his head into her roboparents' bedroom. The guest bedroom and the bathroom were down the tiny hallway. Then she took him upstairs to her bedroom.

The Longcoats had smashed up her wardrobe getting it back up the attic steps. At least they nor the weather had damaged her artwork. Cain stared up at the watercolor of Central City the longest. "I thought you said you didn't remember the O.Z., Sweetheart?"

"They were from my dreams." She gave up trying to separate her clothes from the remains of the wardrobe. "I had nightmares about the cave for as long as I can remember. I never wanted to put those sketches up. But these," she waved a hand at the sketches pinned to the ceiling and walls, "I thought they were Popsicle's stories and my over-active imagination."

"Until you got to the Zone." He moved to the front windows and stiffened. "A vehicle's coming up the drive."

"Go missing for five months and suddenly I'm popular." They reached the porch through the side door just as the patrol car pulled to a stop next to their car. A dark-haired man in the brown and gold sheriff uniform climbed out. "Deputy Gulch," DG kept her voice neutral.

"Actually, it's Acting Sheriff since the doctors put Sheriff Justman on bed rest after his heart attack. Phoebe told me you were back in town."

DG nodded. "This is my husband, Wyatt Cain." Cain tucked his thumbs into his belt and nodded in greeting.

Gulch nodded back. "Anyways, I wanted to give you the keys to the padlocks, but I see you already dealt with that."

She looked at the door and back to Gulch, confusion making her eyes go wide. "You locked the house up?"

"And took your bike and your parents' truck to the impound yard. Just for safe keeping, your speeding ticket is paid." He grinned at her grimace. "You already had vandals once before I got out here, and I didn't want any further damage. Be sure to file a report if anything's missing."

"We'll do that. Thanks."

"I'm sorry about your parents. Hank and Emily were good people." Gulch nodded again and headed to his car. "Have a good evening."

"You too." They stood on the porch until his car pulled onto the main road. "Wow, Elmer Gulch is human. I never would have guessed."

Cain's lip twitched. "I'll get the luggage. The guest bedroom?"

"Yeah." DG pulled the round wicker table back into place. One of the chairs was missing, probably blown away. Luckily, the house wasn't damaged worse by the travel storm. Luckily, the Longcoats hadn't ransacked the place. Luckily, the town believed her story; she needed to send a thank you to Allie. Now all they had to do was fix the house and enjoy the quiet with each other. And find the silver slippers.

They were not in her stuff in the attic. Nothing was wrong with her Kansas memories, and she would remember if she owned a pair of sequined dress shoes. So Popsicle and Mom must have hid them. Only the whole house and twenty-two acres to search, she grimaced. But she had magic now. She closed her eyes and concentrated.

How in the hell had she never heard that before? She followed the call into the house, through the kitchen and the living room, through the swinging door into the hall to her roboparents' bedroom.

Ignoring the lump in her throat, she opened Emily's wardrobe. For a woman she only saw wearing three different types of shoes her entire life, Emily had a dozen shoeboxes stacked on the shelf above the clothes rod. And one box on the bottom of the stack was pulling itself out to get to DG. She pulled it loose and sat down on the bed. The box tingled on her lap.

Cain called her and she answered back as she took off the lid. She pulled away the white tissue paper and the silver slippers gleamed in the light. She sensed Cain hovering over her. Looking up at his awed face, she smiled. "Bet this is the first time you've been this interested in a girl's pair of shoes."

"Only you would refer to the Silver Slippers as another pair of shoes," he shot back.

"But that's what you love about me." DG grinned at him as she covered the silver slippers again.

Cain tugged her out of that bedroom and into the one they had claimed. He took the shoebox from her, setting it on the top of the dresser. His darkened blue eyes bored into hers. "Gods help me, it's one reason I do." His mouth slammed against hers, and she lost all thoughts on learning his other reasons. Plenty of time for that later, much later, and she curled her arms around his neck.

The End


End file.
